Chancellor's Fall Semester Greetings to WCCCD Family

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and my Executive Team, it is my pleasure to express my warmest welcome to all the members of the WCCCD family as we begin the 2024-25 academic year. We anticipate greeting our students at the start of the Fall Semester classes, and I express a special welcome to those faculty and staff members who are joining us for the first time.

At WCCCD, students come first, and we are honored as faculty and staff members when our students entrust to us their hopes and dreams for a better life. We are committed to providing a total student experience of success, belonging, and satisfaction. As we interact with students at various stages of their journey through WCCCD and beyond, each of us can make a positive difference in their lives. It is our love of our students, the programs and services that we provide our fellow employees, and the equity-driven beacon of hope that our college provides that is the motivating force for all that we do.

In parallel with our commitment to student success, we are called to be a positive force for community success and development. In cooperation with our business, educational, governmental, and other community partners, we contribute to the economic and cultural advancement of the communities in our service area. To serve effectively as a primary educational resource for student and community success, we rely on the success of our faculty and staff. I applaud all that our faculty and staff members are doing to continuously advance our programs and services in response to changing student and community needs.

One of the most striking challenges of the post-pandemic era is to speed up the pace of innovation and entrepreneurship in all units and at all levels of the District. Never before in the history of WCCCD have the educational, economic, workforce, and cultural contours of the communities served changed so rapidly, deeply, and broadly. Digital transformation, including artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnologies, transcends the boundaries between humans and technology and will require transforming all WCCCD programs, services, and functions beyond the parameters of our current annual and strategic plans.

For example, AI is bringing about the hyper-personalization of learning, student services, and student engagement. The American Association of Community Colleges has created an AI Incubator Network at the national level. Achieving the Dream is prioritizing AI integration into student success initiatives. At WCCCD, we are making this a priority as well. Chancellor’s 2024 Fall Semester Greetings to the WCCCD Family

At my Executive Team's June 2024 “futures thinkers” session, the need for a District-Wide artificial intelligence strategy, advances in our student success agenda, the academic master plan, our diversity/equity/inclusion strategy, and leadership development were highlighted. I have encouraged all WCCCD faculty and staff members to become “future thinkers” and to actively consider the impact of long-term trends and forces in the environment as decisions are made and actions are taken at all levels. In this way, we will continue our “Pathways to the Future” transformational journey that began in 2002 and has evolved through four phases during the past 22 years.

In closing, I wish to thank all of you for working tirelessly and passionately to give shape and substance to the WCCCD we see today and for continuing WCCCD’s transformation into the future. It is my privilege to serve as your chancellor. I wish you great success in the Fall Semester and the year ahead.

_{About Wayne County Community College District WCCCD, one of the largest urban-suburban community colleges in Michigan, is a multi-campus district with six campus locations and educational centers, including the Mary Ellen Stempfle University Center, the Heinz C. Prechter Educational and Performing Arts Center, the Michigan Institute for Public Safety Education (MIPSE), the Curtis L. Ivery Health and Wellness Education Center and the Outdoor Careers Training Center. The District serves students across 32 cities, townships, and more than 500 square miles. WCCCD is committed to developing innovative programs, transforming the workforce, hosting community-based training sessions, and improving student facilities and services.}