CCBC provost and vice president Joaquin Martinez selected for the Aspen Institute’s Rising Presidents Fellowship
Apr 13, 2023 | by Lisa Harlow | 443.840.4668 (office) | 443.610.3246 (cell)
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) announced that Joaquin G. Martinez, Ph.D., provost and vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at Community College of Baltimore County, is one of 35 leaders selected for the 2023-24 class of the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship. This program, delivered in collaboration with the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiative, prepares the next generation of community college presidents to transform institutions to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success.
Many sitting community college presidents plan to retire in the next decade, creating vacancies and an opportunity to diversify college leadership. Aspen Presidential Fellows represent the next generation of college leadership: this incoming class of Aspen Rising Presidents Fellows is 74 percent women, and 60 percent are people of color. The institutions they represent are also diverse, located in 18 states, from small rural colleges to large urban campuses. The fellows, selected through a competitive process, will work closely with highly accomplished community college presidents, Aspen leaders and Stanford University faculty over 10 months to learn from field-leading research, define and assess student success at their colleges and clarify their visions for excellent and equitable outcomes for students while in college and after they graduate.
“Each cohort of the Rising Presidents Fellowship is different,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the College Excellence Program. “And what they all share is a passion to advance excellence and equity in student outcomes and the commitment to ensure that the colleges they lead continuously improve.”
Rising Presidents Fellows aspire to enter a college presidency within five years of completing the fellowship. As fellows, they join a network of over 300 forward-thinking peers—155 of whom are sitting college presidents—who are applying grounded and innovative strategies to meet student success challenges in their colleges.
“We are extremely proud that Provost Martinez has been selected for the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship,” said CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis. “His dedication to CCBC and our students is evident and being a part of this prestigious program will enable him to use the knowledge and strategies garnered from national leaders to help create the best possible outcomes for our students.”
The Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship is made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, College Futures Foundation and JPMorgan Chase.
For bios and photos of all 35 leaders, visit highered.aspeninstitute.org/meet-the-rising-presidents-fellows.
About the Community College of Baltimore County (www.ccbcmd.edu)
Since 1957, CCBC has opened the doors to accessible, affordable, high-quality education empowering generations of area residents to transform their lives and the lives of others. Each year, nearly 50,000 students enroll at the college’s main campuses, extension centers and online to make their starts, earn degrees, launch and build careers. CCBC offers the region’s most expansive selection of degree, certificate and workplace certification programs that prepare students for transfer, job entry and career advancement in such industries as business, education, health care, information technology, cybersecurity, construction, and transportation. Designated as the “Best Community College” among the Maryland Daily Record’s 2022 Reader Rankings, CCBC is also nationally recognized as a leader in innovative learning strategies and among the nation’s top associate degree producers.
The Stanford Educational Leadership Initiative (SELI) advances the critical cause of diversity, equity and inclusion in learning science and postsecondary education leadership. SELI’s research practice partnership with the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program has enabled faculty from the Stanford Graduate Schools of Education, Business and Engineering to host and prepare almost 300 Aspen Rising President Fellows to lead U.S. community colleges for student success in graduation and preparation for workforce advancement. For more information, visit seli.stanford.edu.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners. Learn more at www.aspeninstitute.org.
