Lake-Sumter State College issued the following announcement on Aug. 9.
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program has announced that Dr. Heather Bigard, Provost & Executive Vice President at Lake-Sumter State College, is one of 40 leaders selected for the 2021-22 class of the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship, a highly selective leadership program preparing the next generation of community college presidents to transform institutions to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success.
The Rising Presidents Fellows will embark on the 10-month fellowship beginning in November 2021. Delivered in collaboration with the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiative, the fellows will be mentored by esteemed current and former community college presidents who have achieved exceptional outcomes for students throughout their careers, and will learn strategies to improve student outcomes in and after college, lead internal change, and create strong external partnerships with K-12 schools, four-year colleges, employers, and other partners.
“To become institutions that truly advance social mobility and talent development, community colleges must have presidents with a clear vision for equitable student success,” said Monica Clark, director of leadership initiatives at the College Excellence Program. “We have selected these fellows because they share that commitment and are well-positioned to become transformational leaders.”
“I am confident that Dr. Heather Bigard will become a transformational community college president,” said Dr. Stan Sidor, President of Lake-Sumter State College. “She combines analytical skills, leadership acumen, communication savvy, and infectious enthusiasm for improving the student experience that I know will propel any college that she leads to great success.”
The Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship responds to the growing need for a new generation of leaders well-equipped to meet the challenges of the future. Nationally, nearly 80 percent of sitting presidents plan to retire in the next decade. While the traditional pathway to the presidency has often excluded women and people of color, the incoming class of Aspen Rising Presidents Fellows is composed of 68 percent women and 70 percent people of color, and represents institutions of varying sizes and locations.
Together, the 2021-22 fellows are leaders at colleges that collectively serve more than 400,000 students. As well, 67 Rising Presidents Fellowship alumni have become presidents of community colleges that collectively serve an additional 953,000 students nationwide.
2021-22 Aspen Rising Presidents Fellows
Aarti Dhupelia, National Louis University (IL)
Aisha Noni Lowe, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CA)
Arlene Rodriguez, Middlesex Community College (MA)
Cedric Bradley, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MS)
Clarissa Cota, College of Southern Nevada (NV)
Cory Clasemann, Ivy Tech Community College (IN)
Denise Douglas, Lorain County Community College (OH)
Diane Stiles, Lake Area Technical College (SD)
Edgar Soto, Pima Community College (AZ)
Eric Dunker, Arapahoe Community College (CO)
George Timmons, Columbia-Greene Community College (NY)
Heather Bigard, Lake-Sumter State College (FL)
Helen Castellanos Brewer, SUNY Rockland Community College (NY)
Iris Freemon, Dallas College (TX)
Jean Marie Runyon, Front Range Community College (CO)
Jennifer Diane Eccles, Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence (MN)
Jessica Robinson, Cuyamaca College (CA)
Kate Connor, Harry S Truman (IL)
Kathryn Anne Rogalski, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (WI)
Kimberly Hurns, Washtenaw Community College (MI)
Kristen Raney, Saint Paul College (MN)
Lamata Mitchell, Pima Community College (AZ)
Levy Brown, Jr., Vance-Granville Community College (NC)
Lizette Navarette, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CA)
Michelle Schutt, College of Southern Idaho (ID)
Mike Munoz, Long Beach City College (CA)
Monica Parrish Trent, Achieving the Dream, Inc. (MD)
O. John Maduko, Minnesota State Community and Technical College (MN)
Pamela Poh-Ling Lau, Parkland College (IL)
Ryan Ross, Colorado Community College Students (CO)
Sanjay Rai, Montgomery College (MD)
Shawnda Navarro Floyd, Dallas College (TX)
Terricita Edreana Sass, Reynolds Community College (VA)
Tiffany Hunter, Clark State College (OH)
Tina Maria King, Southwestern Community College District (CA)
Tracie Sawyer Clark, Central Piedmont Community College (NC)
Uppinder Mehan, West Kentucky Community and Technical College (KY)
Van Allen Wigginton, San Jacinto College (TX)
William Comey, College of Southern Maryland (MD)
Yoshiko Harden, Seattle Central College (WA)
Original source can be found here.
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