Date: 2009-07-16
Iowa State becomes national source of community college research
AMES, Iowa -- This week, President Obama followed through on his promise to make community colleges the centerpiece of a plan to revitalize the American economy, announcing a new $12 billion proposal. And one week earlier, Iowa State University was named the research centerpiece of a new national community college clearinghouse.
Minnesota Governor and Education Commission of the States (ECS) Chair Tim Pawlenty announced the July 9 agreement on behalf of ECS, the Academy for Educational Development and Iowa State University to establish the Community College Policy Center. The center is designed to be a national resource for state policymakers, community college leaders, policy analysts and researchers as they seek to fully leverage community colleges as critical mechanisms for achieving student attainment and workforce development goals.
Linda Serra Hagedorn, a professor of educational leadership and policy studies and director of ISU's Research Institute for Studies in Education (RISE), will play a role in the new center. Last week, she also became the president-elect of the national Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE).
Author of the chapter "The pursuit of student success: The directions and challenges facing community colleges" in the annual edition of the "Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research" (edited by John C. Smart), Hagedorn is one of the first to bring a community college research focus to the ASHE presidency.
"The president who was elected last year was Dr. Barbara Townsend. She passed away on June 11 and was unable to take office," Hagedorn said. "Dr. Townsend and I share the same area of expertise -- community college student success. And prior to her passing, I told her I was nominated for president. She encouraged me to run because no one who had community colleges as their research agenda had ever been president of ASHE."