The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and Sandhills Community College announced that Sandhills Community College Vice President of Instruction Julie Voigt is one of 35 leaders selected for the 2023-24 Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship class. This program, delivered in collaboration with the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiative, prepares the next generation of community college presidents to transform institutions to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success.
Many sitting community college presidents plan to retire in the next decade, creating vacancies and an opportunity to diversify college leadership. Aspen Presidential Fellows represent the next generation of college leadership: this incoming class of Aspen Rising Presidents Fellows is 74 percent women and 60 percent are people of color. The institutions they represent are also diverse, located in 18 states, from small rural colleges to large urban campuses. The fellows, selected through a competitive process, will work closely with highly accomplished community college presidents, Aspen leaders, and Stanford University faculty over 10 months to learn from field-leading research, define and assess student success at their colleges, and clarify their visions for excellent and equitable outcomes for students while in college and after they graduate.
“Each cohort of the Rising Presidents Fellowship is different,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the College Excellence Program. “And what they all share is a passion for advancing excellence and equity in student outcomes and the commitment to ensure that the colleges they lead continuously improve.”
“To work with 35 other Fellows nationwide to increase student success and equity here at Sandhills and campuses across the U.S. is an honor, said Voigt. “We’ll learn from national leaders, build a network of forward-thinking peers, and apply grounded and innovative strategies to meet student success challenges. I look forward to learning with the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.”
Interim SCC President Brenda Jackson said of this opportunity for Voigt, “We are especially proud of Julie having been selected to this program. She is dedicated to student success and equity and desires to develop stronger skills to support the College and our talented students.”
Rising Presidents Fellows aspire to enter a college presidency within five years of completing the fellowship. As fellows, they join a network of over 300 forward-thinking peers — 155 of whom are sitting college presidents — who are applying grounded and innovative strategies to meet student success challenges in their colleges.
The Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship is made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, College Futures Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase.
Courtesy photo/Contributed.
