Shelton State Community College’s Bowden-Evans Completes Community College Policy Fellows Program
October 28, 2019 – Fourteen Alabama and thirteen Mississippi community college administrators recently completed the Community College Policy Fellows Program (CPFP). Among these administrators was Shelton State Community College’s Director of Nursing Programs, Andrea G. Bowden-Evans.
The Community College Policy Fellowship Program is a 10-month professional development program sponsored by the Mississippi Community College Board and the Alabama Community College System and directed by Tyson Elbert of AdvocacyBuild, LLC. The curriculum focuses on four national program pillars: policy, leadership, networking, and advocacy. Comparative elements of both state systems are highlighted throughout the program year as well.
“Participation in the Community College Policy Fellows Program was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career,” stated Bowden-Evans. “I was honored to represent Shelton State Community College and learn more about policy and advocacy alongside leaders in the Alabama and Mississippi community college systems.”
The CPFP cohort meets throughout the academic year to discuss state and national policies on education and to determine successful ways to advocate on behalf of Alabama and Mississippi college students. The fellowship program will culminate in a trip to Washington D.C., for the Washington Advocacy Seminar, enabling the cohort to meet with education policymakers.
The 2019 Mississippi and Alabama CPFP cohorts focused on three policy issues/requests: (1) Protection of the Federal Pell Grant program, particularly max-Pell and the Pell surplus. Fellows will also request that students be able to use Pell for short-term certificate programs. (2) Second-chance Pell, specifically the passage of the REAL Act, which currently has bipartisan support. (3) New funding commitments ($150 million) for the Strengthening Community College Training Grants (SCCTG) to build on the success of the Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants (TAACCCT) program.
While in Washington, DC, the Fellows met with every member of Mississippi and Alabama’s congressional delegations. They also visited the Association of Community College Trustees, the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for American Progress, and the Vera Institute of Justice.
In addition to Bowden-Evans, other 2019 Fellows include (by institution or office):
Alabama Fellows
Claude Bumpers, Interim Director of Institutional Research, Bishop State Community College
Denny Smith, Director of Testing & Assessment, John C. Calhoun Community College
Danielle Coburn, Dean of Instruction, Jefferson State Community College
Andrea Bowden-Evans, Director of Nursing Programs, Shelton State Community College
Jason Jessie, Dean of Student Affairs & Director of the Andalusia Campus, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College
Brannon Lentz, Dean of Administration, J.F. Ingram State Technical College
Chad Gorham, Director of Office of Extended Day/Distance Learning, Northeast Alabama Community College
Crystal Reed, Assistant Dean of Student Success, Northwest-Shoals Community College
Shondae Brown, Director of Public Relations, Southern Union State Community College
Joe Whitmore, Vice President for Finance & Administration, Snead State Community College
Leslie Reeder, Dean of Instructional Affairs, George C. Wallace Dothan Community College
Glenn King, Jr., Director of Workforce Development, Wallace State Selma Community College
LaShanda Hails, Correctional/Post-Correctional Education Administrator, Alabama Community College System
Taylor Hilyer, Financial Aid/VA Coordinator, Alabama Community College System
Mississippi Fellows
Greta Miller, MTE Career Navigator, East Mississippi Community College
Tawana Bauer, Recruiter, East Mississippi Community College
Marvin Moak, Vice President of the Vicksburg Campus, Hinds Community College
Kay Bates, Director of Admissions and Records, Holmes Community College
Melissa Haab, Dean of Enrollment Services, Itawamba Community College
Chad Graham, Chair of Social Science & Business, Meridian Community College
Valarie Morgan, Instructor, Mississippi Delta Community College
Cedric A. Bradley, Vice President of the Jefferson Davis Campus, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Ben Shappley, Director, NEMCC at Corinth, Northeast Mississippi Community College
Jeff Horton, Vice President of Administration & Finance, Northwest Mississippi Community College
Audra Love Kimble, Associate Executive Director for Academic & Student Affairs, Mississippi Community College Board
Patrick Johnson, Coordinator of Tutorial Services, Coahoma Community College
James Collum, Career Education Department Chair & Instructor of Electronics, Pearl River Community College
