Aspen Institute Selects Texas Success Center to Lead Statewide Presidents & Trustees Collaborative
Aspen Institute Selects Texas Success Center to Lead Statewide Presidents & Trustees Collaborative
New initiative will support 10–15 Texas community colleges in strengthening board-president alignment to drive lasting student success reforms.
Texas, May 29, 2025 – The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) announced the Texas Success Center as the first statewide partner in the new Presidents & Trustees Collaborative—an initiative designed to strengthen board-president alignment in support of lasting reforms to improve outcomes for community college students. Over the next year, the Texas Success Center will engage 10–15 community colleges in a series of in-person and virtual sessions grounded in Aspen’s Trustee Framework and lessons from Aspen Prize-winning institutions.
The Texas Success Center was selected for its strong track record of advancing student outcomes across the state’s 50 community colleges through a coordinated, statewide strategy. As the inaugural state partner in this initiative, the Center will work with colleges to help presidents and trustees align governance practices with institutional priorities. Participants will engage with Aspen’s Trustee Framework, explore best practices from leading community colleges, and engage in facilitated discussions and self-assessments to build long-term governance capacity to improve student outcomes.
“Over the last decade, we’ve learned that transformational reforms in community colleges are most likely to succeed—and endure—when presidents and trustees are aligned in both purpose and practice,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the College Excellence Program. “The Texas Success Center is a national leader in advancing student success at scale, and we’re excited to partner with them to help boards and presidents work together to strengthen governance and drive sustainable improvements.”
“Our partnership with Aspen builds on the Texas Success Center’s longstanding commitment to supporting student success at scale,” said Kimberly Lowry, executive director of the Texas Success Center. “Through the Presidents & Trustees Collaborative, we have an opportunity to strengthen how college leaders across Texas align strategy and governance to advance meaningful reforms. This work complements our Talent Strong Texas Pathways strategy and reinforces the critical connection between leadership, policy, and practice in creating better outcomes for students.”
This initiative will serve as a model for future state partnerships, with the Michigan Community College Association set to join in 2026–2027. By working closely with Texas’ community college presidents and trustees, Aspen aims to build a network of states committed to driving systemic reform and improving student outcomes.
The Aspen Presidents & Trustees Collaborative is made possible by the generous support of Ascendium.
To learn more about the collaborative, visit highered.aspeninstitute.org/programs/presidents-trustees-collaborative.
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program aims to strengthen higher education leadership and practice to improve student outcomes—with the ultimate goal of advancing economic mobility and developing talent for the good of each individual and society as a whole. For more information, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit aspeninstitute.org.
Dedicated to the socioeconomic mobility of Texans, the Texas Success Center will:
- build the capacity of Texas Association of Community Colleges member colleges to implement and scale systemic reforms to improve student learning and success,
- build the capacity and sustainability of the Texas Association of Community Colleges to support and evaluate colleges' student success strategies, and
- inform public policy to enhance colleges' student success efforts.
Media Contact:
Amber Silva
[email protected]
tacc.org
Kristin O’Keefe
[email protected]
(240-351-8531)