Lumina Foundation Names Dayton/Montgomery County as 'Talent Hub'

At a press conference on September 25, Sinclair President Steve Johnson and representatives from several area school districts came together to announce that the Lumina Foundation has chosen Dayton/Montgomery County as one of 17 communities from across the country as a "Talent Hub" and is awarding $350,000 to the community to help more young people earn a college degree or credential.

"We're thrilled to be recognized by Lumina Foundation for both our community's past success and our plans for ensuring that more young people in our region earn a college degree or credential," said Sinclair Community College President Steven L. Johnson. "We're on a relentless mission to make sure that every young person can successfully compete for great jobs -- and that takes a great education after high school."

Dayton/Montgomery County and the 16 other communities earned this new designation by meeting rigorous standards and for embracing collaborative work and programs that are designed to ensure that college is affordable and accessible, especially to minority and low-income young people and to students who are the first in their families to go to college.

Talent Hub communities are committed to eliminating deep disparities in educational outcomes among African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians, who too often fare poorly in contrast with white and Asian students.

“These communities are the creative and entrepreneurial engines that power our nation,” said Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation. “For our country to meet the growing demand for an educated workforce, we must bolster community-based efforts that are tightly focused on increasing the numbers of people in cities across the country with education and training beyond high school.”

The 17 recognized communities are:  Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Indiana; Dayton, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; Fresno, California; Los Angeles, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Racine, Wisconsin; Richmond, Virginia; Shasta County, California; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Sinclair Community College is partnering with Learn to Earn Dayton and other regional educational stakeholders on this initiative.

Each community will receive $350,000 over 42 months. Lumina will provide these funds in partnership with the Kresge Foundation.

Kresge’s support for Talent Hubs comes from its national Education Program, which includes a focus on aligning and strengthening urban higher education ecosystems to help more low-income, under-represented and minority students gain access to and succeed in higher education.