Talent Strong Texas Pathways 2025 Award Winners April 15, 2025
Austin, TX – The Texas Success Center is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Talent Strong Texas Pathways Awards. Eight Texas community colleges were honored in Houston, Texas at the April Talent Strong Texas Pathways Institute: Ensuring Teaching and Learning – Instructional Strategies for Connection and Completion, which brought together attendees from 46 community colleges across the state.
Six colleges were recognized with the Recognition of Scaling Excellence (ROSE) award for outstanding efforts in scaling essential practices aligned with the four foundational pillars of the Talent Strong Texas Pathways strategy. These institutions have demonstrated a deep commitment to transformational change, elevating the student experience and ensuring stronger outcomes.
Two additional colleges received the Recognition of
In recognition of House Bill 8's $683 million investment in Texas community colleges, the essay contest celebrates community colleges for giving students the education and skills to land well-paying, in-demand jobs after graduation. Participants were asked to share their unique stories about how their community college experiences have shaped their journeys.
“My amazing community college education opened windows to thriving professional paths,” says Houston
AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kimberly Lowry as the new Vice President of TACC and Executive Director for the Texas Success Center (TSC) effective June 17, 2024. Dr. Lowry brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leadership in higher education, with a focus on community college excellence and student success.
Dr. Lowry joins TACC from The Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, where she serves as the Director of Leadership and Impact. In her role, she is instrumental in developing strategies and executing initiatives that advanced student success and community college leadership nationwide. Her leadership significantly contributed to the professional growth of numerous community college presidents and the overall enhancement of community college education standards.
Houston, TX - The Texas Success Center is excited to announce the recipients of the 2023 Talent Strong Texas Pathways Awards. The Texas Success Center honored the exemplary work of eight Texas community colleges for their success in the implementation and scaling of the state’s research-based guided pathways strategy, Talent Strong Texas Pathways. Awardees were celebrated in Houston, Texas at the November Talent Strong Texas Pathways Institute: Mapping Pathways to Student Post-Completion Goals, with 500 attendees representing 48 colleges statewide.
Five colleges were recipients of the Recognition of Scaling Excellence (ROSE) award, including North Central Texas College, Coastal Bend College, Victoria College, Clarendon College, and Galveston College. Outstanding among their peers, these colleges have dramatically scaled the essential practices associated with the strategy, resulting in
Austin, TX - The T.L.L. Temple Foundation awarded $2.2 million over five years to the Texas Success Center, a Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) division, to improve young adults’ postsecondary and employment outcomes in rural areas of East Texas.
Through the foundation’s generous support, the Talent Strong East Texas Strategy will strengthen, scale, and expand guided pathways into a regional pipeline strategy targeting postsecondary degrees or credentials that lead to high-demand, high-wage jobs. The goal is to upskill East Texans, especially students who are Black, Latinx, or from low-income communities, by building sustainable pipelines that create a steady flow of valuably credentialed workers for thriving East Texas businesses.
“There is an urgent need to enable well-trained East Texans to enter meaningful careers with family-sustaining wages while providing an
