North Hennepin Community College Faculty to Attend White House Summit

Brooklyn Park, MN - North Hennepin Community College Chemistry Faculty Member Dr. Eugenia Paulus has been invited by Dr. Jill Biden to the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges on October 5 in Washington, DC. Dr. Paulus is one of only 100 community college faculty, administrators and students from across the country asked to attend.

President Obama asked Dr. Biden to convene this event to highlight the critical role that community colleges play in developing America's workforce and reaching our educational goals. The summit is an opportunity to bring together community colleges, business, philanthropy, federal and state policy leaders, and students to discuss how community colleges can help meet the job training and education needs of the nation's evolving workforce, as well as the critical role these institutions play in achieving the President's goal to lead the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.

Community colleges are the largest part of America's higher education system enrolling more than 8 million students each year. Last year, President Obama proposed the American Graduation Initiative to usher in a series of new innovations and reforms to expand and strengthen opportunity at America's community colleges.

"We are honored and proud that Dr. Paulus was invited to participate in this historic event," said NHCC President Dr. John O'Brien." She is such a powerful example of North Hennepin's strong commitment to innovative, quality education. It is refreshing to see more emphasis and visibility given to the important mission of community and technical colleges in this country - providing access and opportunity to anyone who seeks to improve their life through education. This summit shows an increasing understanding that community colleges are essential to America's economic growth and vitality."

As a chemistry faculty at North Hennepin for the past ten years, Dr. Paulus has been the recipient of numerous national awards for teaching including the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) 2008 U.S. Professor of the Year and the 2009 Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Distinguished Faculty.

"The summit offers a chance to share the magic of community colleges," said Dr. Paulus, who is excited to be traveling to the White House in a few days. "Community Colleges are where ordinary people get the chance to become extraordinary." Dr. Paulus is looking forward to this opportunity to share the success stories of her students, to represent higher education in the state of Minnesota, and to champion the importance of STEM education and undergraduate research at the two-year college level.

North Hennepin Community College, located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota has been a leading provider of higher education in the northwest metropolitan area of the Twin Cities since 1966. The college offers associate degrees in liberal arts and career programs to prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions or for immediate entry into rewarding careers. NHCC currently serves more than 16,000 students with credit and non-credit offerings, is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.