Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Deliver Keynote Address at City Colleges of Chicago Commencement
by Kai EL’ Zabar
City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Cheryl L. Hyman, Chancellor announced that Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education and current Managing Partner at Emerson Collective– a philanthropic endeavor headed by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs will deliver the 2016 commencement at the graduation ceremony, Saturday, April 30 2016.
Prior to the ceremony, he will meet with a group of graduates to discuss how they are achieving their career goals through a City Colleges education.
The City Colleges of Chicago, is one of the largest community college systems in the country. Under the leadership of Chancellor Hyman, the City Colleges of Chicago has been transitioning through its Reinvention, a collaborative effort to review and revise CCC programs and practices to ensure students leave CCC college-ready, career-ready and prepared to pursue their life’s goals.
Since the launch of Reinvention, City Colleges has awarded the highest number of degrees in its history and more than doubled the graduation rate. Since Chancellor Cheryl Hyman launched a Reinvention of City Colleges to refocus the institution on both student access and success, City Colleges has more than doubled both its graduation rate and number of degrees awarded annually.
In addition, City Colleges has gained some modicum of recognition for its College to Careers initiative, which aims to partner industry leaders with City Colleges faculty and staff to revamp occupational programs, making them more relevant and better preparing students for careers in high-growth fields. Since the launch of College to Careers, more than 150 companies and four-year universities have partnered with City Colleges and more than 4,000 students have found a job or internship.
About City Colleges of Chicago
Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, whose influential Race to the Top program offered financial incentives for school districts to innovate, left the office in December 2015, marking the departure of one of the longest-serving members of President Obama’s cabinet.
Mr. Duncan was arguably one of the most powerful education secretaries in history, both because of his personal ties to the president and the billions of dollars in funding that came to the department as part of the fiscal stimulus program during the financial crisis.
He was at times the subject of criticism from both parties, angering Democrats by challenging teachers’ unions and infuriating Republicans by promoting national academic standards.
City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) is the largest community college system in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation with 5,500 faculty and staff serving 100,000 students annually at seven colleges and six satellite sites. The seven colleges include: Richard J. Daley College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College, Olive-Harvey College, Harry S Truman College, Harold Washington College and Wilbur Wright College. City Colleges also oversees: the award-winning Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute, the French Pastry School, the Parrot Cage Restaurant at South Shore Cultural Center, the Sikia Banquet Facility, five Child Development Centers, the Workforce Academy, the public broadcast station WYCC TV Channel 20 and radio station WKKC FM 89.3.
Under the leadership of Chancellor Cheryl Hyman, the City Colleges of Chicago is in the midst of a Reinvention, a collaborative effort to review and revise CCC programs and practices to ensure students leave CCC college-ready, career-ready and prepared to pursue their life’s goals. Since the launch of Reinvention, City Colleges has awarded the highest number of degrees in its history and more than doubled the graduation rate.
About Post Author
