How is Minneapolis College Meeting the Challenges Facing Higher Education?

Sharon J. Pierce, Ed.D., president of Minneapolis Community and Technical College, has been dedicated to urban education and the mission of community and technical colleges throughout her career. Prior to becoming president, she served Howard Community College (Md.) as the vice president for academic affairs, chair (dean) of the Health Sciences Division, and director of the nursing education program. Dr. Pierce is a professor of nursing and member of Sigma Theta Tau, International Nursing Honor Society. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s from the University of Maryland School of Nursing and a doctorate from Morgan State University (Md.).

Minneapolis College has been in the business of empowering its students and meeting the city’s workforce needs for over one hundred years. The College remains one of the most affordable colleges in the metro and is committed to meeting the workforce needs of the region and serving students, many of whom have been systematically excluded from educational opportunities and economic prosperity.   

However, the strategies our colleges and universities have been employing are not yielding the results we anticipated. Higher completion rates have not been realized, and measures of student success have only demonstrated incremental improvement. The opportunity gap has not closed and is but one of the challenges facing higher education.  Public skepticism of the value of a college degree is growing, higher education governance and business models do not support rapid innovation, and many people question the financial sustainability and viability of our business model. Given this reality, why is Dr. Pierce optimistic and what is Minneapolis College doing to insure its future educating students for a changing society and world of work?  Come find out on March 6th!