Aspen Institute announces five Community Colleges of Distinction

Community college students make up a whopping 44 percent of the entire undergraduate student population in the U.S. This astonishing (and little known) fact underscores the tremendous importance of community colleges in our country. They provide millions of Americans—many of them minorities from low-income backgrounds—with the chance to earn degrees, pursue viable careers, and achieve their own versions of the American Dream.
 
The Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program is shedding light on the often-overlooked role of community colleges, by splitting a $1 million dollar prize between one winner and 4 “finalists with distinction” in this inaugural year of the prestigious award. Funders include the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

The Aspen Institute spent an entire year gathering an unprecedented amount of data on more than 1,000 community colleges across the nation, looking at results in the areas of student learning, degree completion and transfer, equity, and employment/earnings after college. The culmination of this process came on Monday, December 12th, at a dinner at the National Press Club, at which the winner, Valencia College in Orlando, Florida, was announced. The event was attended by many prominent figures, including Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
 
L&A developed and designed a commemorative publication that was distributed at the event. In developing the piece for the dinner event, we envisioned a larger use by the Institute—as an informational brochure about the Prize and as a case for support in attracting other potential funders. We helped to craft the introductory copy with those parameters in mind and created a design that conveys the prestige and authority of the award. With big facts and statements, and the profiles of the schools themselves, the publication has a compelling narrative flow, and a sophisticated, but immediate feel. According to the Aspen Institute, this prize marks the beginning of a process of gathering and sharing information broadly to replicate excellent practice in the community college arena.