Every year, N.C. State’s Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research hosts the W. Dallas Herring Lecture. Herring, considered the father of the community college system in North Carolina, helped transform the way that North Carolinians access community college.
According to the Belk Center’s website, “The lecture invites top community college leaders to speak on urgent and emerging topics, framing how to address the issues and proposing a path forward. On Tuesday, November 8th, Mike Flores, Ph.D., chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District, will deliver the 2022 Dallas Herring Lecture under the title of Community Colleges in Action: Advancing Equity and Enhancing Economic Mobility Using Local Collective Impact Strategies. “
This year, Dr. Janet Spriggs, President of Forsyth Tech, will offer a response to the Dr. Flores’ comments. Spriggs’ response will cover what North Carolina community colleges are doing to address systemic barriers to success for students, and offer practical as well as inspirational advice on how college leadership, faculty and staff can cultivate a sense of belonging among all students.
Spriggs, now beginning her fourth year as president, is uniquely positioned to share how North Carolina’s open-access institutions are poised to continue to address inequities in education. Forsyth Tech works tirelessly to address achievement gaps, and has invested significantly in a framework of inclusive excellence that has been implemented at every campus and center.
