WVU Parkersburg president appointed to national commission

West Virginia University at Parkersburg

WVU Parkersburg president appointed to national commission

CONTACT: Marie Foster Gnage, WVU Parkersburg president, 304-424-8200

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Parkersburg, W.Va. 7/6/11 – Marie Foster Gnage, president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg, has been appointed to serve on the 21st-Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. The commission was appointed by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and comprises 36 individuals who will work to examine the challenges and opportunities confronting the nation’s largest and fastest growing higher education sector.

Over the next 10 months, the 21st-Century Commission will meet in person and virtually to examine the community college mission in light of current economic realities. President Obama has challenged community colleges to educate an additional 5 million students with degrees, certificates or other credentials by 2020. The first commission meeting will take place Aug. 12 in Washington, D.C.

“I’m honored to be selected to serve on this historic commission.” said Gnage. “Our goal is to help the country’s community colleges better educate and prepare individuals for the competitive workforce, present and future.”

The new commission marks the third such effort to realign the community college mission to reflect national needs and changing times. The Truman Commission (1947) challenged higher education to provide universal access based on its belief that then-junior colleges could broaden and further democratize their mission by becoming community colleges. Four decades later, the AACC Futures Commission (1988) set forward a reform agenda designed to strengthen the comprehensive mission the Truman Commission originally proposed.

Guiding the commission's work will be three nationally-known experts on community colleges who will serve as co-chairs: San Diego Community College District Chancellor Emeritus Augustine Gallego, Cuyahoga Community College President Jerry Sue Thornton, and Dr. Kay McClenney, director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement and former chief operating officer for the Education Commission of the States.

In addition to Gnage and the co-chairs mentioned above, members of the 21st-Century Commission include:

Mr. J. Noah Brown, President and CEO, Association of Community College Trustees (Washington, D.C.)
Dr. Walter G. Bumphus, President and CEO, American Association of Community Colleges (Washington, D.C.)
Mr. Kenneth P. Burke, Trustee, St. Petersburg College (Fla.)
Dr. Gerardo E. de los Santos, President and CEO, League for Innovation in the Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Dr. Myrtle E. B. Dorsey, Chancellor, St. Louis Community College District (Mo.)
Dr. Peter T. Ewell, Vice President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (Boulder, Colo.)
Dr. Bernadine Chuck Fong, Senior Managing Partner, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Stanford, Calif.)
Dr. Allen Goben, President, Heartland Community College (Normal, Ill.)
Ms. Kati Haycock, Director, Education Trust (Washington, D.C.)
Dr. Alex Johnson, President, Community College of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Dr. Christine Johnson, Chancellor, Community Colleges of Spokane (Wash.)
Mr. Dwight D. Jones, Superintendent, Clark County School District (Nev.)
Dr. Jane A. Karas, President, Flathead Valley Community College (Mont.)
Dr. William "Brit" Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland
Ms. Jennifer Lara, Professor, Anne Arundel Community College (Md.)
Dr. Paul E. Lingenfelter, President, State Higher Education Executive Officers (Boulder, Colo.)
Dr. Michael B. McCall, President, Kentucky Community & Technical College System (Versailles, Ky.)
Dr. Mark David Milliron, Deputy Director, Postsecondary Improvement U.S. Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, Wash.)
Mr. Eloy Oakley, Superintendent-President, Long Beach City College (Calif.)
Dr. Diana G. Oblinger, President and CEO, EDUCAUSE (Boulder, Colo.)
Dr. Daniel J. Phelan, President, Jackson Community College (Mich.)
Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard, President, Montgomery College (Md.)
Dr. Richard M. Rhodes, President, Austin Community College (Texas) as of Sept. 1, 2011
Dr. Rod A. Risley, Executive Director, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (Jackson, Miss.)
Dr. John E. Roueche, Professor and Director, Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin
Mr. James T. Ryan, Chairman, President and CEO, W.W. Grainger, Inc. (Lake Forest, Ill.)
Dr. Randy Smith, President, Rural Community College Alliance (Olustee, Okla.)
Dr. Mary F. T. Spilde, President, Lane Community College (Ore.)
Dr. John "Ski" Sygielski, President, Harrisburg Area Community College (Pa.)
Dr. Vincent Tinto, Distinguished University Professor, School of Education, Syracuse University (N.Y.)
Dr. Philip Uri Treisman, Professor of Mathematics and Public Affairs; Director, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor, The State University of New York (Albany)

For additional information, contact:
Katie Wootton
WVU Parkersburg
Director of Marketing and Communications
304-424-8203
E-mail

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