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Anderson appointed to national community college leadership position

Anderson appointed to national community college leadership position

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A member of the Northeast Community College Board of Governors has been appointed to a leadership position in an organization that advocates for the nation’s community colleges.

Steve Anderson will serve as the western regional representative on the board of directors of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). Anderson and other members of the board and various ACCT committees were sworn into office during the 50th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in San Francisco.

Anderson, of Concord, succeeds Kent Miller, a member of the board of governors of Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte and McCook.

In nominating Anderson for the position, Greg Adams, executive director of the Nebraska Community College Association, said he has the personal and professional qualities that should be hoped for in any and every board member.

“Steve brings a wealth of experience to his service. He doesn’t take on board service as a resume member or stepping stone to another position,” Adams said. “Rather he really is a servant. Steve is also the kind of leader who can maintain a balanced perspective on policy issues. He understands the important distinction between personal interest versus public interest, which is a unique quality in leadership today.

Anderson is a District III member on the Northeast Board of Governors, which includes Dixon and Dakota counties in their entirety and a portion of Cedar County.

In 2017, Anderson was presented with the Nebraska Community College Association’ Governor’s Award. The award is presented annually to one board member from five of the state’s community college areas.

The following year, Anderson was recognized by the Association of Community College Trustees with its 2018 Western Region Trustee Leadership Award. ACCT’s Western Region covers 10 states and five Canadian provinces and territories. Geographically, it is the largest of the association’s five regions across North America.

As chair of the ACCT Board of Directors through next October, Dawn Erlandson, a trustee from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, announced that her focus for the year will be to bring attention to the need for colleges to be student ready, taking into consideration the diverse needs of students with learning differences, cultural differences and generational differences.

"Higher education - indeed all education - must adapt to meet student needs, student interests and student learning styles," Erlandson said. "No longer is higher education only for traditionally young college students. Community colleges open their doors to everyone. And because we serve everyone, we must ensure that everyone who walks through our doors succeeds."

Erlandson continued to say that "a holistic, inclusive approach to learning is the future. The sooner we adapt, the more successful our students will be."

Founded in 1972, ACCT is the nonprofit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees of community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. Its purpose is to strengthen the capacity of community, technical, and junior colleges and to foster the realization of their missions through effective board leadership at local, state, and national levels. 

 

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