White House Summit on Community College
UPDATE: We are pleased to announce more details of the summit. Both the opening and closing plenary sessions will be streamed live onWhiteHouse.gov/live on October 5. The opening session begins at 12:15 PM EDT and the closing session begins at 3:00 PM EDT. Click here for more details.
White House Summit on Community Colleges Event Toolkit
Many community colleges have expressed interest in hosting their own satellite summits and events in their schools and communities. The White House has created a toolkit which will help guide discussions and give direction on how to send feedback to us.
On October 5, 2010 Dr. Jill Biden will chair the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges. President Obama asked Dr. Biden to convene this event to highlight the critical role that community colleges play in developing America’s workforce and reaching our educational goals.
The summit is an opportunity to bring together community colleges, business, philanthropy, federal and state policy leaders, and students to discuss how community colleges can help meet the job training and education needs of the nation’s evolving workforce, as well as the critical role these institutions play in achieving the President’s goal to lead the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.
We want Americans across the country to submit their thoughts, questions and challenges for discussion as part of the summit dialogue. There are a number of ways to participate:
- Submit a Video. How has the community college experience affected your life? Please let us know by submitting your stories via YouTube or our webform.
- Join the Dialogue. We’ve set up an online dialogue to bring together community college administrators, students and stakeholders from around the country to discuss these ideas.
- Plan an Event. You can host a group or watch the live webcast of the plenary session of the summit on October 5. Much of the day’s content will be available online here at whitehouse.gov, and it will be a unique opportunity to be a part of this important and ongoing discussion.
Community colleges are the largest part of America’s higher education system enrolling more than 8 million students each year. Last year, President Obama proposed the American Graduation Initiative to usher in a series of new innovations and reforms to expand and strengthen opportunities at America’s community colleges.
As a lifelong educator and community college instructor for the past 17 years, Dr. Biden knows that community colleges are uniquely positioned to graduate more Americans with the skills that businesses and the economy will need to compete in the 21st century.
Be sure to check back frequently for more details and news on the summit.