Spotlight on Community Colleges
Spotlight on Community Colleges
Podcast Description
The Spotlight on Community Colleges podcast provides community college administrators, trustees, and faculty, as well as higher education scholars, students, and thought leaders, with insights into major challenges and issues community colleges face. Through topical exchanges between researchers and practitioners, guests discuss emerging scholarship paired with practical solutions, as well as critical analyses of possibilities for future practice. Together they share stories and anecdotes grounded in personal narratives, professional examples, and practical take-aways. Hosted by Drs. Carrie B. Kisker, Erin Doran, and Brett Ranon Nachman, a trio of community college scholars from diverse backgrounds, the Spotlight on Community Colleges highlights the centrality of community colleges to our democracy, economy, and work toward social justice, and shines a light on the perspectives of those who attend, teach, lead, and study these institutions.
Spotlight on Community Colleges is a project of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, the largest association of university-based researchers and community college scholar-practitioners dedicated to furthering scholarship on the community college enterprise.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers themes central to community college challenges, including leadership diversity, educational equity, and practical reforms. Episodes like 'Women of Color in the Community College Leadership Pipeline' highlight the transformative impact of diverse leadership, while introductory episodes provide context on the roles and contributions of community colleges in broader societal frameworks.
The Spotlight on Community Colleges podcast provides community college administrators, trustees, and faculty, as well as higher education scholars, students, and thought leaders, with insights into major challenges and issues community colleges face. Through topical exchanges between researchers and practitioners, guests discuss emerging scholarship paired with practical solutions, as well as critical analyses of possibilities for future practice. Together they share stories and anecdotes grounded in personal narratives, professional examples, and practical take-aways. Hosted by Drs. Carrie B. Kisker, Erin Doran, and Brett Ranon Nachman, a trio of community college scholars from diverse backgrounds, the Spotlight on Community Colleges highlights the centrality of community colleges to our democracy, economy, and work toward social justice, and shines a light on the perspectives of those who attend, teach, lead, and study these institutions.
Spotlight on Community Colleges is a project of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, the largest association of university-based researchers and community college scholar-practitioners dedicated to furthering scholarship on the community college enterprise.
The word crisis evokes images of sheer panic, disarray, confusion, and deep fear. Like many of our social institutions, community colleges are no stranger to major incidents that can disrupt an entire set of operations. Whether it’s a lockdown instigated by an active shooter threat, storm that causes damage to the infrastructure, union strike that halts unions, or leadership scandal that rocks the boat, crises can uproot the functionality, reputation, and/or safety of a community college. Yet amidst the shakiness such crises can also serve as reminders of how to make campus-spanning improvements that bring people together.
This episode focuses on how campus leaders manage a variety of crises and features two guests who have direct experience in making sense of such issues. Dr. Jon McNaughtan is Professor and the Associate Dean for Enrollment Management in the College of Education at Texas Tech University, as well as lead author of an edited book called Facing Vexing Problems for Community College Leaders, in which he led a chapter on the issue of crisis management. Dr. Jeff Cox is the recently retired president of the North Carolina Community College System who oversaw the state’s 58 community colleges during many turbulent times, chief among them the effects of Hurricane Helene in late 2024, which interrupted countless thousands of people and more than a dozen of its colleges in the western portion of the state.
Spotlight on Community Colleges is the official podcast of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (https://www.cscc.pitt.edu/).
We would like to thank the Lumina Foundation, our Season Three Sponsor. The Lumina Foundation is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available for all.
Stay Connected With Us:
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @spotlightonccs
BlueSky: @SpotlightonCCs.bksy.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriekisker/, https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-doran-7545a67a/, and https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettnachman/
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