The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) announced today that Dr. Janet Wansick, president at Eastern Oklahoma State College, is one of 26 leaders selected for the 2022-23 class of the Aspen New Presidents Fellowship. This program, made possible with support from JPMorgan Chase, supports community college presidents in the early years of their tenure as they work to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success.

This class of fellows represent the diversity of our nation’s community colleges, collectively serving over 250,000 students at colleges across the nation, in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The incoming class of New Presidents Fellows is 46 percent female and 65 percent are people of color. Located in 19 states, their institutions too are diverse, from a tribal college with fewer than 300 students to an urban college that educates more than 35,000 each year.

The fellows, selected through a competitive process, will work closely with other transformational community college presidents and Aspen leaders over nine months to learn from field-leading research, analyze their colleges’ student outcomes, and clarify their visions for excellent and equitable outcomes for students while in college and after they graduate.

“The quality of our nation’s community colleges depends on the quality of our college presidents,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the College Excellence Program. “I am continually inspired and motivated by the dedication and expertise that our fellows bring to the work of advancing excellence and equity on their campuses, and I look forward to seeing the changes they make in real time to improve outcomes for their students.”

Wansick, who became Eastern’s president in July 2020, said she is honored to be selected and excited to learn from the 25 other college presidents also in the first five years of their presidencies. She is the only president from the state of Oklahoma selected for this year’s fellowship.

“From the beginning, my goal has always been to increase access to a high quality college degree and remove barriers to student success,” Wansick said. “The Aspen Institute’s New Presidents Fellowship is an incredible opportunity to learn from top community college experts and explore new ways to advance success and increase equity for all of our students. Being part of this fellowship will strengthen and continue our efforts to improve the lives of Eastern students.”

JPMorgan Chase’s philanthropic support for the Aspen Presidential Fellowship is part of the firm’s New Skills at Work initiative to prepare young people for the future of work and meet the growing demand for skilled workers, and the $30 billion commitment to advance racial equity and drive an inclusive economy.

For bios and photos of all 26 leaders, visit https://highered.aspeninstitute.org/meet-the-new-presidents-fellows/.