Russell Lowery-Hart
Chancellor of Austin Community College District and an inaugural Aspen Institute Rising Presidents Fellowship alumnus. Previously president of Amarillo College, he is a community-college leader focused on data-informed student success, institutional transformation, and workforce alignment.
Community Colleges Must Organize Around Completion, Not Enrollment
Aspen Institute fellowship leaders and alumni argue that community colleges should organize around student completion and labor-market outcomes, not enrollment alone. Russell Lowery-Hart, chancellor of Austin Community College District, says those measures must shape institutional systems, budgets and decision-making, while Pascale Charlot and Maria Harper-Marinick describe the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship as preparing prospective college presidents with the evidence, tools and leadership frameworks to drive that change.
Community-College Reform Shifts From Completion to Post-Graduation Outcomes
Community-college reform should be judged not only by access and completion, but by what happens to students after graduation, argues Marcia Ballinger, president of Lorain County Community College. Ballinger, Russell Lowery-Hart of Austin Community College District and Falecia Williams of Prince George’s Community College describe the Aspen fellowship as training leaders to confront institutional data, build reform agendas with peers, and tie student outcomes to their colleges’ economic role in their communities.