Community College Conference Set for March 21

The A&M-Commerce Department of Educational Leadership will hold its 2014 Community College Conference on March 21 in the Rayburn Student Center. Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at Syracuse University, Dr. Vincent Tinto, will be the featured speaker, presenting on the theme of “Community Colleges' Role in Enhancing College Completion.”

In his keynote address, Tinto will discuss his latest book, “Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action,” which lays out a framework for institutional action for student success. Tinto will also conduct workshops on best practices in student retention and completion for community college faculty and administrators in two separate breakout sessions. During the workshops, participants will have the opportunity to present on their institutions' practices for retention and student success.

“Dr. Tinto has been a nationally-recognized leader in research on student retention and success for more than 25 years. We look forward to learning from him how to address college completion issues most effectively,” said Dr. Joyce Scott, professor of higher education at A&M-Commerce.

Tinto has worked with various organizations concerned with increasing student success in higher education in the U.S. and Europe, including the American Association of Community Colleges, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the European Access Network. He chaired the national panel responsible for awarding $5 million to establish the first national center for research on teaching and learning in higher education and served as associate director of the National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning and Assessment. His research, funded by grants from the Lumina Foundation for Education and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, focuses on the impact of learning communities on the academic achievements of underprepared college students in urban two and four-year colleges.

Those interested in attending the conference should complete a registration form. For additional information, contact Joyce Harper, administrative assistant in the A&M-Commerce Department of Educational Leadership, at [email protected] or 903-886-5577.