Some community-college presidents are taking their institutions in new directions; some are using their expertise and accessibility to build stronger ties to their communities. Here are the stories of seven of them.
Students from a study-abroad program offered by Georgia Perimeter College gather in Machu Picchu, Peru. More two-year colleges are offering such programs. (Photograph by Ernie Guyton)

• THOMAS J. SNYDER
• MARIE FOSTER GNAGE
• MONTE E. PEREZ
• DAISY COCCO DE FILIPPIS
• STEVEN LEE JOHNSON
• DEBORAH M. DICROCE
• JOHN J. SYGIELSKI

For many community colleges, global is the new local as they begin study-abroad programs and other international strategies.

Some two-year colleges are taking bold steps to increase their share of grant money.

A number of two-year institutions have sought out architects to create impressive new projects as well as imaginative renovations of humdrum buildings from the 1960s and 70s buildings.

• FROM THE GROUND UP: A sampling of recent construction and renovation projects at community colleges.

One transfer student got the help she needed from a community college to pursue her dream of medical school.

As the most democratic institutions in this country, community colleges must set their sights lower, dig deeper into their communities, and work with a sense of urgency, writes Daniel Seymour.

Nearly 80 college leaders gathered with Education Department leaders to discuss issues urgent to community colleges. Pat Stanley discusses some of their ideas.

George B. Vaughan, a former community-college president, emeritus talks about how to get such a job-and succeed.

America's community colleges are a key link in the chain of upward mobility, and they need more support than they're getting, Paul Lanning writes.

Two-year colleges are sanctuaries for generalists, says Chad M. Hanson. Switching from a university to a community college helped him discover the purpose of postsecondary life.

In 1971, Garrett Bauman taught his first community-college class, at age 23. His experiences with conflicting cultural values have lessons for today.

Faculty members could learn a lot about how to become better teachers by becoming students again, Caroline Calogero writes.

Some students arrive at community college with the hope that they can reinvent themselves. Instructors have the privilege of helping them make that happen, says Ellen A. Laird.

Two competing visions of education help explain the tension between jobs and ideas that all community colleges grapple with, M. Garrett Bauman writes.

Some colleges are trying new ways to move students more quickly and smoothly through remedial math.

Instructors at City College of San Francisco make the college's Diego Rivera mural an everyday part of the curriculum.

In rural areas, arts programs at colleges provide a rich diet for culture-starved residents.

12 TEACHING TIPS: Community-college instructors offer ideas for the classroom.

GOOD CITIZENSHIP: Most community-college leaders give little thought to the role their colleges play in their communities, George B. Vaughan says.

NONTRADITIONAL LEARNERS: Colleges are not keeping up with changes in the way adults pursue their education, says Charlene R. Nunley.

SCARCE INFORMATION: Students need to know much more about how to transfer to four-year institutions, Stephen J. Handel writes.

BOILING POINT: Bob Blaisdell reflects on the day he lost it in front of his students.

A SPECIAL ROLE: Rural community colleges are meeting the needs of a changing and increasingly diverse population, Stephen G. Katsinas says.

INFLUENCE OVERSEAS: Community colleges can play an important role in fostering world peace, writes David J. Smith.

CLASSROOM OBSESSIONS: Charlotte Laws says that too many instructors emphasize grades and attendance, to the detriment of creativity and responsibility.

CHALLENGES OF POVERTY: Kathleen Sheerin DeVore says it is her job to help students complete their assignments amid the chaos of their lives.

ATTENTION BILLIONAIRES: Big donors should consider giving to community colleges if they really want to help the nation's students, writes Catherine Stukel.

Two-year colleges are experimenting with supplemental instructors, databases to aid local businesses, e-portfolios to help students focus on their work, life skills for the disabled, and efforts to improve faculty diversity.

Fund raising is now high on the agenda for many community colleges.

Community colleges are waking up to the potential of alumni donations and contacts.

Short, flexible study-abroad packages help two-year-college students in challenging circumstances.

Honors programs provide rich educations at affordable prices.

Internships offer a path to community-college careers.

Data on who the chief executives are and how they go about their jobs.

Commentary

Kent A. Farnsworth outlines four lessons that community colleges can learn from their for-profit competitors.
(Illustration by Jon Krause)

Community colleges are often considered far removed from controversies over academic freedom. But that, says Ann H. Franke, is a misconception.

An administrator and an adjunct faculty member describe the differences community colleges made in their lives.

• LINDA LUJAN: "I wanted to give something back."
• THOMAS M. O'CONNOR: Finding "the opportunity to turn my life around."

Donald C. Summers wonders why community colleges have been so slow to get their fund raising in gear.

Richard A. Donovan bemoans how unstable living situations can undermine the work of talented students.

Too many community-college Web sites are mazes rather than informative gateways for prospective students and their parents, says Clifford Adelman.

Joseph R. Ferrari offers tips on how faculty members at community colleges can move to four-year institutions, and why those baccalaureate colleges should welcome them.

You do community-college students no favor by underestimating them, says T. Allen Culpepper.

Bob Blaisdell loves getting to know his students through their writing.

Three community-college presidents describe how students' need for remediation has affected their campuses.