TC vice president receives national honor
ERIC ECKERT | TEMPLE COLLEGE
DeDe Griffith, Vice President of Workforce Development for Temple College, has been selected as one of six community college STEM leaders across the nation for a fellowship designed to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and workforce development.
An Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation funds the CCPI-STEM Fellows program. It is one of several initiatives of the Community College Presidents’ Initiative in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (CCPI-STEM) that aim to strengthen community college faculty and administrators and nurture their leadership skills to grow and diversify the STEM technician workforce.
“It is an honor to serve in this role and to be able to bring new STEM resources here to the Central Texas region for our local community,” Griffith said.
The criteria used to evaluate the applicants included:
Educational background
STEM-related experience
Leadership potential
STEM leadership potential
STEM community engagement
Prior research experience
Focus of their proposed research
Griffith’s research is focused on developing a STEM talent pipeline from preschool to employment. Griffith will work directly with community stakeholders, including school districts, business and industry, non-profit organizations, and government entities, to develop a Talent Strong community with a highly skilled STEM-strong workforce.
All the individuals in this first cohort of CCPI-STEM Fellows are pursuing graduate degrees and conducting research related to STEM education and workforce development at community colleges.
Griffith is pursuing a doctorate in community college leadership at the Kansas State University John E. Roueche Center for Community College Leadership.
