Project on Workforce Team
Apr 10
Updated: a day ago
Overview
The Project on Workforce at Harvard, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), and the Education Design Lab are bringing together community college leaders from across the country for a day-long convening designed to strengthen colleges’ capacity to drive economic mobility and regional growth. Building on the research and findings in America’s Hidden Economic Engines, the event will facilitate deep learning and connections among community college leaders. It will be an opportunity to share best practices and develop joint solutions to pressing workforce challenges.
The convening will take place on Wednesday, July 24 at NOVA’s Annandale campus and feature a full day of programming. The morning will be dedicated to panel discussions with college presidents and other leaders on key topics, including establishing meaningful employer-college partnerships and leveraging industrial policy to drive innovation. In the afternoon, attendees will participate in workshops designed to develop evidence-based strategies to workforce challenges–such as leveraging real-time labor market information and new technologies, designing new financing mechanisms, and developing college leadership pipelines.
This is an in-person, invite-only event.
Date: Wednesday, July 24
Time: 8:30a - 4:30p
Location: NOVA’s Annandale Campus (8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003), Ernst Community Cultural Center
Tentative Agenda
8:30a - 9a Breakfast
9a - 9:20p Welcome
9:20a - 12p Panel Discussions
9:20-10:20a Insights from America’s Hidden Economic Engines
Speakers:
Anne Kress, President of Northern Virginia Community College
Brenda Hellyer, Chancellor of San Jacinto College
Lee Lambert, Former Chancellor of Pima Community College
Bob Schwartz, Co-Editor of America’s Hidden Economic Engines
10:20-10:30a Break
10:30-11:15a Building employer-college partnerships
11:15a-12p Industrial policy and regional innovation
12p - 1p Lunch
1p - 4p Workshops
1-1:50p Workshop 1
Option A: Leveraging labor market information
Steven Partridge, Vice President for Strategy, Research and Workforce Innovation at NOVA
Option B: Connecting credit and non-credit offerings
Ian Roark, Vice Chancellor of Workforce Development & Innovation at Pima Community College
Option C: Innovative financing mechanisms
Kenneth Adams, President of LaGuardia Community College
2-2:50p Workshop 2
Option D: Developing college leaders
Rufus Glasper, President and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College
Option E: Building student supports
Option F: Strengthening dual-enrollment
Paula Chrin Dibley, Chief Officer of Student Success and Strategic Innovation at Forsyth Tech, and Jessica Lauritsen, Senior Education Designer at Education Design Lab
3-3:50p Workshop 3
Option G: Regional economic development
Option H: State policy solutions
Option I: Leveraging AI and emerging technologies
4p - 4:30p Close
Speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Travel Information
The convening will take place in Annandale, Virginia, conveniently located near numerous hotel options for those opting to arrive ahead of schedule or depart the following day. We have compiled a few options, below:
Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park
3111 Fairview Park Dr, Falls Church, VA 22042
Archer Hotel Falls Church
8296 Glass Alley, Fairfax, VA 22031
Homewood Suites by Hilton Falls Church
8130 Porter Rd, Falls Church, VA 22042
Directions to Venue
Ernst Community Cultural Center
Northern Virginia Community College
8430 Center Drive
Annandale, VA 22003
Enter the Ernst Cultural Center, which will take you to the main lobby/atrium. Either go up the central floor staircase, or use the elevator just behind the stairs. At the top of the stairs is the Long Nguyen & Kimmy Duong Forum where the event is located.
Parking will be in a designated parking lot close to the building. More information to come.
America’s Hidden Economic Engines
This convening is inspired by the volume, America’s Hidden Economic Engines: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity, edited by Bob Schwartz and Rachel Lipson. To learn more about the book or to purchase a copy, please visit the Harvard Education Press website.