Belk Center News Archive

June 16, 2025

Belk Center Announces Jason Wood to Deliver the 2025 Dallas Herring Lecture

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research is pleased to announce that Jason Wood, Ph.D., president of Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (Southwest Tech), will deliver the 2025 Dallas…

March 17, 2025

Belk Center Fellows Convene at Annual Innovations Conference

Last week, seven Belk Center Fellows had the opportunity to attend the League for Innovation in the Community College’s annual Innovations Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Launched in 2017 through…

February 18, 2025

Belk Center Fellows Attend Annual DREAM Conference

This week, community college practitioners from across the country gathered in Philadelphia, Pa., for DREAM 2025 – Achieving the Dream’s (ATD) flagship event. Among the attendees were four Belk Center…

January 28, 2025

Belk Center highlights North Carolina’s adult learners

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research recently launched its Adult Learner Spotlight Series, which includes five videos highlighting the stories of adult learners who have recently returned to…

January 07, 2025

Perspective | Developing future community college presidents in North Carolina

In her latest EdNC Perspective piece, Audrey J. Jaeger, executive director of the Belk Center and W. Dallas Herring Professor of Community College Education, spotlights the Aspiring Presidents Institute, a…

December 19, 2024

Developing innovation in community colleges: Examples from rural-serving colleges

Zach Barricklow, Pamela L. Eddy and Audrey J. “A.J.”Jaeger collaborate on an article focusing on innovation in rural-serving community colleges. This article is posted on the Community College Daily web…

November 07, 2024

Belk Center Team Visits NC Reconnect Cohort 4 Colleges

This fall, researchers from the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research visited five North Carolina community colleges participating in the fourth NC Reconnect cohort to understand how the…

September 23, 2024

New Belk Center Guide Highlights Faculty Insights on Supporting Adult Learners

Despite seeing a drop in enrollment during the pandemic, community colleges have since experienced increases in their enrollment – especially among individuals 25 years or older. To support student success, then,…

August 20, 2024

Belk Center Celebrates 2024 College of Education Award Recipients

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research is pleased to congratulate doctoral students Beth Bockoven and Jennifer Wisely for being recognized as NC State’s College of Education 2024…

August 16, 2024

Belk Center Releases New Teaching and Learning Report Focused on Student Success

Since the North Carolina Teaching and Learning Hubs launched in 2021, their strategy for student success has been clear: to invest in faculty professional learning and reach students where they…

July 25, 2024

Community College Leadership Doctoral Program Welcomes New Faculty

The NC State College of Education’s doctoral program in Community College Leadership will welcome two new full-time faculty members this fall, bringing additional strength, expertise and innovation to its team…

July 22, 2024

Supporting Community College Adult Learners with the Five Ps: Public Messaging, Partnerships, Processes, Pathways and Proximity

Anthony’s first foray in postsecondary education started two decades after graduating high school. He spent nearly twenty years in the workforce – working full-time in retail management – before deciding…

July 09, 2024

New Belk Center Report Features Recommendations from Innovative Presidents of Rural-Serving Community Colleges

Across the nation, rural-serving community colleges are anchors in their communities – providing tremendous resources to their students and the communities they serve. By advancing student equity, driving talent development,…

January 24, 2024

Belk Center Releases Second-Year Report for NC Teaching & Learning Hubs

In an ongoing effort to support professional learning at North Carolina community colleges, the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research has once again partnered with evaluation and learning…

December 06, 2023

New Surry-Yadkin Works Playbook Shines Spotlight on Innovative Work-Based Learning Model

What does it look like when education, government, and workforce leaders join forces to develop a new generation of talent and drive their regional economy? The new Surry-Yadkin Works playbook,…

September 14, 2023

Belk Center Releases Second Edition of the Adult Learner Guidebook

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research is pleased to announce the launch of the Adult Learner Guidebook, Second Edition. Following the successful release of the Adult Learner…

February 10, 2023

Belk Center Releases Teaching & Learning Hubs Inaugural Report

As part of the effort to support equitable student success, the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research has collaborated with learning and evaluation partner, DVP-PRAXIS LTD, on an…

January 24, 2023

New research by Steve Turner, Ed.D., examines Hispanic student experiences with high-impact practices and transfer success

In recent years, high-impact practices (HIPs) have been proven as a critical component of student retention, engagement and persistence for students across all backgrounds. More specifically, these engaging and hands-on…

July 13, 2022

Belk Center Releases Adult Learner Guidebook to Aid in the Recruitment and Retainment of Adult Learners at North Carolina Community Colleges

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, in partnership with the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE), myFutureNC and the North Carolina Community College System, is pleased to announce…

October 14, 2021

New Report: Exploring Pathways to Completion by Field of Study for North Carolina Community College Transfer Students

“In both sections of the report, we focus on a transfer student’s pathway to bachelor’s degree completion, and we provide information about transfer student success at various points along this pathway.” In this new report, “Exploring Pathways to Completion by Field…

June 28, 2021

New Report: The Impact of North Carolina’s Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Among Community College Transfer Students

In this new report on transfer, “The Differential Impacts of North Carolina’s Revised Comprehensive Articulation Agreement on the Outcomes of Black, Latin*, and White NCCCS-to-UNC-System Transfer Students,” authors Melissa Whatley, Rachel Worsham, and Jonathan Loss examine the early impact of North Carolina’s revised (2014) Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) – designed to ease the transfer pathways between the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) System – and its impact on Black, Latin*, and white transfer students.

June 16, 2021

Viewpoints from College and Career Access Programs: New Report by Paul Schnorenberg, Greyson Norcross, Laura Maldonado, Patti Harris, Andrea DeSantis, and Sarah Deal

“In North Carolina, myFutureNC is working to ensure that by 2030, 2 million North Carolinians have a high-quality credential or postsecondary degree. This goal is necessary as only 1.6 million…

April 22, 2021

Kenzie Bell, Jemilia S. Davis, Ph.D., and Callie Edwards, Ph.D. share policy brief on high-quality credentials for childcare workers

“If NC is to truly invest in our early childhood workforce, and reach the goal of 2 million North Carolinians holding high-quality credentials or postsecondary degrees by 2030, we must…

February 10, 2021

Melissa Whatley, Ph.D., Frim Ampaw, Ed.D., and Jemilia Davis, Ph.D., research transfer equity in access and completion for NC community college students

This report explores the demographics of students who transfer from North Carolina community colleges to public four-year institutions in the state and examines bachelor’s degree completion rates among these same demographic groups. Key findings include: Female students, American Indian/Alaska Native students, and Black/African American students comprise a larger percentage of community college students than they do transfer students…