Aspen Prize will be awarded April 20 to best community college in nation
On Thursday, April 20, the Amarillo College (AC) community will turn its collective attention toward Washington D.C., for the Aspen Institute’s much-anticipated announcement of which community college is the nation’s very best.
AC is once again among the Top 10 finalists for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of America’s community colleges. It is awarded every two years.
Rather than gather in a single location for the noon-hour reveal, AC departments and divisions will congregate informally throughout the College landscape to watch the live-streamed event from their most convenient vantage points.
However, several College and community leaders will congregate to watch the live stream beginning at noon CDT on the second floor of the College Union Building on the Washington Street Campus.
The Aspen Institute has let it be known that, during the live stream, the Aspen Prize winner, plus any finalists with distinction and/or rising stars, are most likely to be revealed sometime between 12:25 and 12:45 p.m.
To register for access to the live stream, visit info.actx.edu/aspenaward2023.
AC, an Aspen finalist in the previous biennium (2021), was named a Top 5 College that year, and was also presented with the Institute’s Rising Star Award.
“It’s both thrilling and humbling to be included among the Top 10 Aspen finalists twice in succession,” AC President Russell Lowery-Hart said. “Just like last time, we’re up against nine incredible schools, and of course the chips will fall where they may.
“But I know in my heart that the Amarillo College workforce and its leadership team strive relentlessly for excellence, not in the pursuit of awards, but in the belief that our students and this community deserve to have a College that is worthy of being considered the nation’s very best.”
Lowery-Hart also said a State of the College Celebration is planned for the Washington Street Campus on May 5, “where we can celebrate our immense successes together as a College – whether we win the top Aspen Prize or not.”
The Aspen Prize honors colleges with outstanding achievement in five critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success, and equity for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.
The Prize selection process for this cycle began in October 2021, when the Aspen Institute invited 150 colleges to apply, based on data showing strong and improving student outcomes in key areas such as retention, completion, transfer, and equity. The Top 10 finalists were selected last June, and each has since undergone extensive scrutiny, including onsite visits by the Aspen Committee.
“The 10 finalists for this year’s Aspen Prize exemplify the excellent outcomes that are possible when a college commits to delivering on its promises, both to students and the broader community,” said Josh Wyner, founder and executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.
“While each has advanced student success reforms in different ways and contexts, these colleges share an unwavering commitment to ensuring that all of their students not only graduate, but earn credentials with value in transfer and the workforce.”
The 2023 Finalists are:
- Amarillo College, TX
- Broward College, FL
- Hostos Community College (CUNY), NY
- Imperial Valley College, CA
- Kingsborough Community College (CUNY), NY
- Moorpark College, CA
- Northwest Iowa Community College, IA
- San Jacinto College, TX
- South Puget Sound Community College, WA
- Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, WI