HCCs President Selbe Invited to White House for Summit on Community Colleges

Hopkinsville Community Colleges President, Dr. Jim Selbe, has been invited to attend the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges scheduled for Tuesday, October 5.

This is exciting and a little bit scary, stated Selbe. I am pleased that this President recognizes the value of community colleges to education and workforce development of the country. It is good to see community colleges on the national agenda. Selbe is the only KCTCS President to receive an invitation to the national summit. The White Houses request to attend comes in recognition of HCCs unique Warrior Battalion Education Program which is a piece of the colleges Wounded Warrior Program. Selbe delivered a presentation about the program in Washington earlier this year.

Most recently, Selbe chaired the worlds largest Rotary charity auction, raising over $311,000 for student scholarships. He has served on the American Association of Community Colleges Commission on Academic, Students and Workforce Development and currently serves as chair of the Pennyrile P-16 Council.

According to the White House website, President Obama asked Dr. Jill Biden to convene the event to highlight the critical role that community colleges play in developing Americas workforce and reaching our educational goals. The summit is described as an opportunity to bring together community colleges, business, philanthropy, federal and state policy leaders, and students to discuss how community colleges can help meet the job training and education needs of the nations evolving workforce, as well as the critical role these institutions play in achieving the Presidents goal to lead the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.

As stated by Courtney ODonnell, communications director for Dr. Jill Biden, in a White House blog post, attendees expected at the Community College Summit include: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Melinda Gates, Co-Chair and Trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, William Green, Chairman and CEO of Accenture, Eduardo Padron, President of Miami Dade College, Ted Carey, President of the Student Association of Community Colleges and other students, educators and leaders from across the country.

HCC will host a live webcast of the plenary session of the summit on October 5.