Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Summer Reading – June 22
June 22, 2018
Colleagues,
Two completion ceremonies last week celebrated the achievements of more than 400 students from our Westchester Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) and Workforce Development and Community Education programs who are either entering or advancing in the workforce. We also gathered with Westchester Community College credit and non-credit faculty from Mechanical Technology and employers from the Advanced Manufacturing and Apprenticeship sectors to showcase the college’s programs and student projects. Our emergent work in Applied Learning and the potential development of a comprehensive Career Development Center show promise for strengthening preparation and post-graduate success in the workforce.
I am proud of the work that we do to educate tomorrow’s workforce, many who will need post-secondary education and training. As a recently elected member of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Board of Directors, I will serve on their Program Initiatives and Workforce Committee where we will work to better align community college programs to meet the needs of the 21st century workforce.
This week’s article discusses a White House proposal to merge the Departments of Education and Labor, proposing that a Department of Education and the Workforce would better meets the needs of the workforce through alignment with post-secondary education programs. While this initiative will likely face challenges in the political arena, it provides “food for thought” about how to best structure our institutions to help our students to prepare for career opportunities.
Enjoy!
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President