Rob served for more than a decade as a director, dean, and provost in the California community college system, before branching out to  begin his work helping a number of colleges, as well as regional and national organizations, navigate their way through his challenging new landscape.

Pathfinder

Founder and President, National Center for Inquiry and Improvement (Rob Johnstone)

The San Jacinto College District has received considerable national attention for the work they've done to improve student outcomes. They've worked with philanthropy, partners in the Houston area, researchers and, crucially, they've formed teams across the institution to look closely at what's happening that inhibits student success or keeps them moving forward.  A key figure in this work has been Laurel Williamson, Deputy Chancellor and College President at the District. It's been her role to oversee many of these efforts, and help make sure things are done in an integrated way.

Deputy Chancellor and College President (Laurel Williamson)

I sat down a few weeks ago, in Dallas, with Senator Florence Shapiro, former chair of the Senate Education Committee. She's now working with the Texas Association of Community Colleges to help communicate their message to members of the Texas Legislature. You can tell, right away in our conversation, how deeply she cares about these issues and the students at our institutions. 

Senator Florence Shapiro

How do we encourage the adoption of good idea? How to we create a culture that promotes and internalizes positive change? Wynn Rosser, the president and CEO of the Template foundation, has spent the better part of his career wrestling with these questions. Resources mentioned on today's episode: The Fifth Discipline, Peter M. Senge The Fifth Discipline Field Book, Peter M. Senge Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough, Mark Friedman

A Systems Approach to Student Success (Wynn Rosser)

Tanya Garcia is the Associate Director of Postsecondary Policy Research at the Center for Education in the Workforce at Georgetown University. She’s working to support states integrating postsecondary and labor market data to improve policy and practice. She hopes her work and the work of the Center can help institutions understand and make better decisions at the intersection between the academy and the workplace. Resources mentioned on today's episode: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain  The stories of J.F. Powers, J. F. Powers Sunrise, Sunset, Edwidge Danticat The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz

Education and the Workforce: A National Perspective (Tanya Garcia)

Nathan Venske is the Associate Dean of Student Services at Jackson College in Michigan. He and his colleagues have devoted a great deal of time and energy to improving the experience their students have. They've received some grants to support these efforts, and they've had a chance to look closely at what they're doing from the student's perspective.  Nathan has been the Associate Dean of Student Services at Jackson College since 2014. In his time at Jackson, Nathan has directly overseen the complete revamp of the academic advising model, new student orientation, and student intake process. Using the Michigan Career Pathways information and the Big 5 personality assessment, Nathan created a new student intake assessment that has been integral to the work of the Student Success Navigators. This intake assessment, coupled with a robust Outreach and Intervention plan, guides the Navigator’s daily work. Data-driven approaches have been the hallmark of the recent innovations and changes that Nathan has brought to his role at Jackson College. Resources mentioned on today's episode: Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl

Designing Student Services for Student Success (Nathan Venske)

Matt Lewis has been a professor of mathematics at San Jacinto College since 2009, and has just recently moved into the position of Qualitative Research Analyst, devoting himself full-time to understanding what works in our efforts to improve student success. Winner of several teaching awards, including the 2017 National ACCT Faculty Award, Matt has both studied the effectiveness of new ideas for improving student outcomes and applied them in his classes. Resources mentioned on today's episode: Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas R. Hofstadter Everyday Zen: Love and Work, Charlotte Beck Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

Thinking about Data and Systems (Matt Lewis)

Michael Aguilar is this year’s Texas Regional President for Phi Theta Kappa, the two-year college international honor society. Michael is studying economics at Lone Star College - CyFair, where he is a student in the honors college. 

Phi Theta Kappa Regional President Michael Aguilar

I spoke last week with Josh Wyner, who directs the college excellence program at the Aspen Institute, about the work they're doing to improve student outcomes in community colleges across the country. He’s interested in the factors that truly drive excellence in an institution and he’s discovered the crucial role leadership plays in effecting high-quality, lasting change. Joshua Wyner is founder and Executive Director of the College Excellence Program at the Aspen Institute, where he also serves as a Vice President. Josh has spent the past two decades investigating organizations aimed at improving and equalizing educational outcomes. He has authored numerous publications about education, including a book, What Excellent Community Colleges Do: Preparing All Students for Success (Harvard Education Press, 2014). He has a B.A. from Vassar College, a MPA from Syracuse University, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. Resources mentioned on today's episode: David Copperfield, Charles Dickens This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff The Round House: A Novel, Louise Erdrich

The Aspen Institute's Focus on Leadership (Josh Wyner)

I had the chance this week to talk with Denise King, Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Cleveland State Community College. She talks about the need these days to supplement the perspective of an educator with analytical and data tools that help explain the environment we’re working in, and come up with solutions to the challenges we’re dealing with. This was our first attempt at a remote interview, where we weren't both sitting in the same room, and I appreciate Denise's great attitude as we tried something new with technology! Resources mentioned on today's episode: Redesigning America’s Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success, Bailey, Jaggars and Jenkins Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t, Jim Collins Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, Collins, Hansen The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People, Chapman, White All will be Will: 30 Days With a Great Spiritual Teacher, Julian of Norwich To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis

A Big-Picture Look at Guided Pathways (Denise King)

Today, we’re talking with Brent Chambers, chief of the Tyler Junior College police department, about issues related to campus safety. The topic being discussed is all over the media, including social media, as students, faculty, administrators, and parents all wonder how safe they are on campus, and what it will take to make things safer. Resources mentioned on today's episode: The Constitution of the United States The Federalist Papers Texas Got It Right!, Wyly, Wyly, Isaacson

College Campus Safety (Brent Chambers)

Today we’re sitting down with Sandy Dochen, Director of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs for IBM in Texas and some of the surrounding states. He’s been working for some time on a program called P-Tech, an early college high school model IBM has pioneered with high schools across the country and overseas. Resources mentioned on today's episode: http://www.ptech.org/ Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, Steven Ambrose  The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, Douglas Brinkley Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America, Douglas Brinkley The Road to Character, David Brooks 

IBM's P-TECH Early College High School Program (Sandy Dochen)

Susan Barkley is the Executive Dean of World Languages, Cultures and Communications at Richland College in Dallas. Her division enrolls more than 20,000 students each year and includes English, ESOL and 13 foreign languages, plus International Education, Global Studies, Ethnic Studies, Cultural Studies and Peace Studies. Resources mentioned on today's episode: Redesigning America’s Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success, Bailey, Jaggars, Jenkins The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry West with the Night, Beryl Markham

Leadership in a Large Urban College (Susan Barkley)

Today, we're picking up on the conversation we began last week with Wanda Mercer, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs in the University of Texas System, and David Troutman, Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Research and Decision Support in the UT System. It's a live recording of a program held at this year's TCCTA annual conference and we're discussing dual credit. 

Dual Credit Policy and Data, Part 2 (Wanda Mercer and David Troutman)

Last week, we were at the annual TCCTA convention, where we had a chance to sit down with Wanda Mercer, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Services for the University of Texas System, and David Troutman, Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Research and Decision Support for the UT System. The conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the conference, so we were able to bring faculty from across Texas into the discussion! Presentation PDF download 

Dual Credit Policy and Data, Part 1 (Wanda Mercer and David Troutman)

The podcast where we visit with faculty, administrators, policymakers, researchers - really, anyone making a difference in the lives of students at community colleges. It's a partnership between the Texas Success Center and the Texas Community College Teachers Association.

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Pathfinder

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