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As we welcome 2026, we leave behind a year of challenge and hopefully move into calmer waters, although “waters” of any sort are still slightly churning at the Department of Education. Reflecting on our woes and triumphs over the past 12 months, I feel more hopeful this year than I did last year at this time. For all of the…
Continue readingAs a tumultuous 2025 winds down to a close, I am reminded of the bold spirit that defines the impactful work we do each day across America’s community colleges. Each year, hundreds of thousands of ambitious learners enroll in our courses and programs. They come to push boundaries, explore new frontiers, and carve out a pathway to a brighter future…
Continue readingFor decades, Thanksgiving has offered us a day to celebrate and to reflect on our many blessings. However, this year, this familiar holiday may just serve as a much-needed respite from the unusual level of divisiveness and political rancor that has permeated our everyday existence for months. All of higher education has donned battle gear to wrestle not only with…
Continue readingThis holiday season marks a time of change and transition on both personal and national levels. While uncertainty is sometimes a concomitant of change, it is the resilience and unity of our collective community spirit that keeps us strong. As we close another challenging year, it is more important than ever to celebrate the remarkable work that powers our nation’s…
Continue readingRecently, I read of a young Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia whose recent film “All We Imagine as Light” won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May. As she spoke of the film—a portrait of life in Mumbai—she made this statement: “Real life is more interesting than cinema can be . . . . if your real life…
Continue readingThe theme of this year’s Black History Month, “African Americans and the Arts,” beckons us to explore the intersections of creativity and heritage, echoing these timeless words by James Baldwin with renewed significance: “The world is before you, and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in.” From antiquity to present, Black sculptors,…
Continue readingI recently shared a quote with the CCBC community that I think captures the essence of Thanksgiving: “The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” Although political divisiveness, war, and the remnants of COVID-19 seem to have set the world around us on a collision course with disaster, I borrow this phrase to encourage us to look towards…
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