Walter Bumphus, president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges, will represent community colleges on the newly formed Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (HESA).
The council represents a coalition of national leaders from multiple sectors that will work together to develop and propose recommendations for ensuring that U.S. higher education institutions can deliver the workforce and educated citizenry needed to address critical national priorities.
“Technology and global interconnectivity are fundamentally uprooting workforce priorities,” said Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University and co-chair of HESA. “The United States is falling behind in its vision for higher education, which is already endangering our security and competitiveness. We must act swiftly to reimagine collaborative approaches for higher education policy and funding that reflect changing economic realities.”
Leveraging higher ed, community colleges
In its announcement, HESA Commission noted that as other nations readily embrace higher education as a strategic asset, the U.S. must develop new approaches at speed and scale to ensure it remains competitive. HESA’s goal is to maximize the impact of higher education on global competitiveness, national security, democratic strength and economic prosperity.
“Community colleges have long served as a strategic asset for millions of students and communities, and I am honored to represent their voice in this critical work,” Bumphus said. “As technology advances, so must our vision and strategies for our students today and our workforce of tomorrow.”
Crafting recommendations
Linda Gooden, board chair of the University System of Maryland, and Robert L. King, interim president of Florida Institute of Technology and former assistant secretary for postsecondary education at the U.S. Education Department, will serve as the other HESA co-chairs.
“America’s strength derives from the talent of its people and the innovativeness of its leading institutions,” King said. “HESA is bringing together a dynamic coalition of leaders from the public and private sectors to identify how we can quickly retool higher education policy in service to the critical needs of our country.”
At its first meeting on June 6, HESA members will start their work to develop recommendations to the president, members of Congress, and other elected officials by June 2024.
