HCC plans for 2019
Sep 15, 2015
The greater Houston community is stepping up to help Houston Community College create a Strategic Plan that will guide the college to 2019. Business executives, leaders of community organizations, and members of the HCC Board of Trustees, as well as students, faculty, and staff have taken the initial steps in creating the multi-year plan.
“The Strategic Planning Advisory Council (SPAC) for HCC has a distinguished panel of sociologists, futurists, and leaders of business and industry who have experience in strategic planning for institutions in Houston and beyond,” said Michael Edwards, HCC executive director for Transformation and Institutional Effectiveness. “They have joined members of our Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and students in the process of defining our four objectives: innovation, student success, performance excellence, and organizational stewardship.”
The first meeting of the group featured messages from the HCC Chancellor, Dr. Cesar Maldonado; Dr. Peter Bishop of Teach the Future, and Dr. Stephen Klineberg of Rice University.Focused on creating skills and training for the workforce of tomorrow, each speaker provided information that will guide the SPAC in their mission.
“We are a large but nimble institution,” said Dr. Maldonado.“The future is made up of many variables and HCC must be ready to play the hand that we are dealt. We are positioning the institution to react to what the world does in the future, to be ready for whatever comes our way.”
Dr. Klineberg stated repeatedly that the community college system is the most important institution in Houston. “This is where the future is happening,” he said. “Education is essential to meet the global challenges of the 21st Century. By 2020, 65% of all American jobs will require an education beyond high school. This is where the community college comes into play.”
Texas currently ranks 50th of 50 states in the number of adults who have high school degrees. Houston Community College is working with local ISDs to create more expansive Dual Credit programs, early college high schools, and adult basic education classes to help greater numbers move into higher education. By transforming to the Center of Excellence model, HCC is working with business and industry leaders to assure that workers are adequately trained to fill the gap and take on their share of workforce responsibilities in the years ahead.
“HCC must be prepared to fill the gap,” said Dr. Bishop. “It is important to realize that HCC must go there, understanding that there may be resistance. You will need to proceed with caution, but in the end, the rewards will be substantial.”
The next step in the SPAC process is to have the four subgroups meet to define what actions the institution must take to assure student success and provide ongoing routes for innovation and performance excellence, while striving to be a partner that achieves quality through organizational stewardship.
Community members of the Strategic Planning Advisory Council include: Peter Beard, vice president of the Greater Houston Partnership; Honorable Judge Ed Emmett, Harris County Commissioners Court; Bob Eury, president, Central Houston; Trina Fowlkes, senior vice president, Amegy Bank; the Honorable Mayor Annise Parker, City of Houston; Mike Temple, Houston–Galveston Area Council; David Thompson, Thompson and Horton, LLP; Linda Toyota, president, Asian Chamber-Houston; Ed Wolf, Wolf & Company; Glenn Wintrich, chief innovation officer, Dell; and Michael Alvarez from Shell Oil Workforce Division.
To learn more about Houston Community College, please visit hccs.edu.