The Community's College

“The diverse narratives captured in The Community’s College demonstrate the ways in which community colleges continue to serve as powerful catalysts for social and economic mobility, not only for the students whose stories are told here, but for their families and the communities in which they are located. Equally important, the analysis offered by Dr. Pura and Dr. Parker unveils how community colleges—distinctively American institutions—are more essential than ever to fulfilling our nation’s historic mission of educating for democracy.”

from the Foreword by Lynn Pasquerella, President, AAC&U

Acknowledgements
Foreword
Lynn Pasquerella
Introduction
Part One
1 – Education, Community and Democracy
2 – The Community College Movement
3 – The Community’s College
4 – Leadership Matters
Part Two
Introduction – Stories from the Field
5 – Connors State College
6 – Hostos Community College
7 – Grand Rapids Community College
8 – Diné College
9 – Berkeley City College
10 – Conclusions and Recommendations
Afterword
References
Index

Robert L. Pura

Robert L. Pura retired after forty years of service as a teacher and administrator in the Massachusetts Community College System, the last eighteen as President of Greenfield Community College. Bob is a proud graduate of Miami Dade Community College where he earned his A.A. Degree. He then went on to earn his B.A. at the University of South Florida; M.S. from St. Thomas University, Miami; and Ph.D. in Educational Administration (CCLP) from the University of Texas in Austin.

Dr. Pura served on the New England Commission on Higher Education, the Commission for Academic, Student and Community Development for the American Association of Community Colleges, was a member of the Working Group on Assessment of Student Learning for the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, and chaired the Massachusetts Community Colleges’ President’s Council. Bob also served on the Boards of the American Association of Colleges & Universities, Bay State Health Systems of Western Massachusetts, The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, and the International Language Institute.

Dr. Pura is currently Senior Fellow for Community College Leadership at The University of Massachusetts Boston’s College of Education and Human Development.

Tara L. Parker

Tara L. Parker is Chair of the Leadership in Education Department and Professor of Higher Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research focuses on race and higher education, including three interrelated areas: 1) the application of critical race theory to higher education; 2) the experiences and contributions of faculty of color; and 3) the influence of public policy on developmental education and its implications for college access and success.

Dr. Parker’s scholarship has been published in the Review of Higher Education, Teachers College Record, the Journal of College Student Development and the Community College Journal of Research and Practice. She has presented her work in Canada, China, Mexico, Thailand and throughout the United States. Dr. Parker is the author of The State of Developmental Education: Higher Education and Public Policy Priorities (Palgrave MacMillan, 2014) with Leticia Bustillos and Michelle Sterk Barrett and Racism and Racial Equity in Higher Education (Jossey-Bass, 2015) with Samuel Museus and Maria Ledesma.

Dr. Parker was awarded the 2020 Presidential Medal Honorable Mention at the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) for her influence as a local change agent. She currently serves on the editorial board for the Review of Higher Education and the American Educational Research Journal.

Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Dr. Parker earned her Ph.D. from New York University, her M.A. from the University of Minnesota, and her B.A. from Marist College.