ANC's Shemwell Serves as Keynote Speaker for National Conference

Pictured: Opening plenary session at the American Association of Community Colleges Workforce Development Institute featured Dr. James Shemwell, President of the Arkansas Northeastern College (far right), Jen Worth, Senior Vice President, Academic & Workforce Development, AACC (center) and Dr. Ava Parker, President, Palm Beach State College, FL (left).

 

Each year, the American Association of Community Colleges, a national organization that serves as the primary advocacy organization for the nation's community colleges, representing more than 1,000 2-year, associate degree-granting institutions and nearly 12 million students, hosts a Workforce Development Institute (WDI) Conference.  This conference focuses upon best practices and new innovations in workforce development.  On two previous occasions, ANC President Dr. James Shemwell has spoken on WDI panels in breakout sessions regarding the workforce development model at ANC.  For the 2022 WDI held in Jacksonville, Florida, last week, Dr. Shemwell and Dr. Ava Parker, President of Palm Beach State College (the opening night host college), served as the featured speakers for the opening night keynote plenary session, moderated by Jennifer Worth, Senior Vice President of Workforce Development at AACC.

Dr. Shemwell addressed numerous innovations at the Arkansas Northeastern College including the Solutions Group workforce training delivery model, the emergence of multimodal instruction, and efforts leading to the elimination of the achievement gap related to minority graduation rates at ANC.  Over 500 community college representatives from around the country were present for the opening session, which was well received based upon feedback offered by dozens of attendees throughout the remainder of the conference.  Ideas and themes raised by Dr. Shemwell were referenced and reinforced by other speakers on several occasions in subsequent breakout sessions and presentations.  The 2022 WDI conference provided an opportunity to share ANC best practices and innovations with other community colleges across the country with the hope that these successful approaches might be replicated elsewhere.

ANC's successes in workforce development has garnered the institution nation recognition and respect from its peer colleges.  Such success led Dr. Shemwell to be one of only 15 people featured in the 2017 book Community College Leaders on Workforce Development: Opinions, Observations, and Future Directions.  Dr. Shemwell's invitation to speak at the national conference demonstrates the reputation the Arkansas Northeastern College has earned and illustrates its willingness to share best practices with other colleges across the nation.