For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: June 17, 2024
Southwest Tech again a finalist for Aspen Prize
Washington, D.C. -
The Aspen Institute named 10 finalists for the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, including Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore, Wisconsin. The $1 million award is the nation’s signature recognition of strong performance among community colleges. The institutions selected for this honor stand out among more than 1,000 community colleges nationwide as having high and improving levels of student success, as well as equitable outcomes for Black and Hispanic students and those from lower-income backgrounds.
Awarded every two years, the Aspen Prize honors colleges with outstanding performance in six critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success, broad access to the college and its offerings, and equitable outcomes for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. The winner will be announced in the spring of 2025.
“This designation reinforces the work that is being done across campus to foster student success and promote equitable outcomes for all our students,” said Dr. Jason Wood, Southwest Tech president. “I am immensely proud of the progress we are making. We are grateful to the Aspen Institute for this honor and we remain dedicated to our mission of empowering students to thrive in their educational and career pursuits.”
“We are honored to be a top 10 finalist for the 2025 Aspen Community College Excellence Prize,” said Holly Clendenen, acting president at Southwest Tech, and an Aspen Rising President Fellowship graduate. “This prestigious recognition from the Aspen Institute highlights our dedication to improving student success and ensuring equitable outcomes for all. Our faculty and staff are deeply committed to supporting our students at every stage of their educational journey – before, during, and after their time with us. We are grateful for the acknowledgment and will continue to strive for excellence in serving our community.”
Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, noted the Aspen Prize finalists not only deserve national recognition, but they also need to be studied and their successes replicated. “Working-class Americans are experiencing an economy that seems to be stacked against them, while employers are struggling to find well-prepared workers in fields such as teaching, nursing, software development, welding, and advanced manufacturing,” Wyner said. “The 10 Aspen Prize finalists demonstrate how community colleges serving urban and rural communities throughout the country can prepare many more graduates for fulfilling lives and careers in their communities. They show that excellence can be reached in any and every context.”
The finalists are:
• GeorgiaHighlands College, Georgia
• MoorparkCollege, California
• Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Wisconsin
• NorthwestVista College, Texas
• SanJacinto College, Texas
• SeminoleState College of Florida
• SouthPugetSoundCommunity College, Washington
• Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, Wisconsin
• UCNJUnionCollege of Union County, New Jersey
• WallaceState Community College-Hanceville, Alabama
The Aspen Prize selection process began in the summer of 2023 when Aspen analyzed data on 1,000 community colleges in key areas such as retention, completion, and transfer. In October, Aspen invited 150 community colleges to apply based on data showing high, improving, and equitable levels of student success. The 118 submitted applications went to a selection committee of 18 higher education experts who assessed each application based on extensive data and narrative answers to questions. Following interviews with leadership teams from applicants receiving top scores, 20 semifinalists were selected and announced in May. The committee continued its review and narrowed the field to the 10 finalists.
Next steps in the process include:
● Fall 2024: Multi-day in-person site visits to each of the 10 finalists, during which Aspen and partners will collect additional information, and additional data collection, including extensive employment and earnings data on graduates from the finalist colleges
● Winter 2025: A distinguished, independent prize jury will review data and qualitative summaries that synthesize each part of the 14-month analyses, then meet for a full day to select the winner and others for additional recognition
● April 17, 2025: Announcement of the Aspen Prize winner and celebration of the 10 finalists in Washington, DC
To read more on the selection process, visit https://highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize/.
The Aspen Prize is generously funded by Ascendium, the Joyce Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, and the Kresge Foundation.
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program supports colleges and universities in their quest to achieve a higher standard of excellence, delivering credentials that unlock life-changing careers and strengthen our economy, society, and democracy. It takes visionary college leaders to lead scaled, sustainable reforms, and this program makes it its mission to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and research-backed tools to inspire change, shift practice, and advance the capacity of colleges to deliver excellent and equitable student outcomes.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners.
For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |