Walla Walla, Wash. – The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) announced today that Dr. Nick Velluzzi, Walla Walla Community College’s (WWCC) vice president of enrollment services & institutional effectiveness, is one of 31 leaders selected for the 2022-23 class of the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship. The program, delivered in collaboration with the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiative, prepares the next generation of community college presidents to transform institutions to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success.
Many sitting community college presidents plan to retire in the next decade, creating vacancies and an opportunity to diversify college leadership. The Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship program is designed to groom the next generation of college leadership. The fellows, selected through a competitive process, will work closely with highly accomplished community college presidents, Aspen leaders, and Stanford University faculty over ten months to learn from field-leading research, define and assess student success at their colleges, and clarify their visions for excellent and equitable outcomes for students while in college and after they graduate.
“The leaders that come through the Rising Presidents Fellowship continually inspire us,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the College Excellence Program. “We are motivated by the dedication and expertise that our fellows bring to advancing excellence and equity on their campuses, and we look forward to supporting their work.”
Velluzzi has served as a member of WWCC’s executive leadership team since 2016 and has been with the college since 2011.
“Congratulations to Dr. Velluzzi on his selection to this prestigious fellowship,” WWCC President Dr. Chad Hickox said. “WWCC is proud to embody excellence and to propel the success of its graduates and employees, alike. We applaud Dr. Velluzzi for entering the ranks of this elite group of aspiring presidents and look forward to seeing where this opportunity will lead.”
The incoming Fellowship class is 70 percent female, and 54 percent are people of color. The institutions they represent are also diverse, located in 16 states, from small rural colleges like WWCC to large urban campuses.
Rising Presidents Fellows aspire to enter a college presidency within five years of completing the fellowship. As fellows, they join a network of over 300 forward-thinking peers—122 of whom are sitting college presidents—who are applying grounded and innovative strategies to meet student success challenges in their colleges.
For bios and photos of all 31 leaders, visit https://highered.aspeninstitute.org/meet-the-rising-presidents-fellows/. To learn more about WWCC, visit https://wwcc.edu.