Dr. Annesa Cheek One of 40 to Receive National Fellowship Award

Sinclair Vice President for School and Community Partnerships Dr. Annesa Cheek has been awarded the prestigious Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence.  The Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC, announced April 7, 2016 that Dr. Cheek joins the inaugural class of the Aspen Presidential Fellows, a diverse group of 40 extraordinary leaders with the drive and capacity to transform community colleges to achieve higher levels of student success.

The Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence aims to equip college leaders with the tools they need to dramatically improve student outcomes. The Fellowship is a highly selective year-long program to prepare leaders aspiring, or recently appointed, to the community college presidency. Fellows will participate in a series of innovative seminars and ongoing mentorship focused on a new vision for leadership, delivered in collaboration with Stanford University faculty and top community college leaders.

“Dr. Annesa Cheek is one of the most dedicated and most talented leaders I have known in my decades of experience in higher education,” Sinclair President Steve Johnson said. “I’m excited that this experience will make her an even stronger leader and that her colleagues and our students will benefit as a result.”

Dr. Cheek was selected through a rigorous process that considered her abilities to take strategic risks, lead strong teams and cultivate partnerships, and focus on results-oriented improvements in student success and access.

The 2016-2017 Aspen Presidential Fellows hail from 17 states and 30 community colleges of varying sizes and will begin their program in July 2016 at Stanford University with anticipated completion in Spring 2017. 

For more information, visit: http://aspeninstitute.org/pres-fellowship. The Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, ECMC Foundation, Greater Texas Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.