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U.S. Congressmen Nathaniel Moran and Tim Walberg, both of whom are members of the important House Committee on Education and the Workforce, met with presidents from all Texas community colleges during a Congressional Legislative Summit of the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC), held this week on the Tyler Junior College central campus.
During the kickoff reception on Tuesday, TJC President and CEO Dr. Juan E. Mejia, who serves on the TACC board executive committee, provided opening remarks and welcomed everyone to the inaugural convening.
Students from the TJC Culinary Arts program and members of the Apache Belles precision dance team assisted with the opening reception. The Apache Belles greeted guests as they arrived, and culinary students prepared and served the food. The event was sponsored by the Tyler Economic Development Council and CEO Scott Martinez, and Hibbs-Hallmark & Company Insurance.
Moran, Walberg and members of TACC also celebrated special guest panelist Amy Jones, who serves as Policy Director for Education and Human Services and has a vast amount of experience with education policy.
Mejia said, “Degree attainment and workforce education are priority items on the legislative agenda for community colleges across the state, so this is a most unique and special opportunity for us to have meaningful conversations on how to best position our institutions to best serve our communities.”
TJC President Dr. Juan E. Mejia (center) is pictured with students from the TJC Culinary Arts program and members of the Apache Belles precision dance team, who assisted with the opening reception. The Apache Belles greeted guests as they arrived, and culinary students prepared and served the food for the event.
TACC President and CEO Ray Martinez said, “Your presence here today underscores the significance of our community colleges across the nation but especially in Texas. All 50 of our community colleges abound in excellence in the programs we offer to students either on the academic side or on the workforce education side. Our enrollment in the last academic year was roughly 665,000 students across Texas at 50 community colleges, and we’ve heard from a lot of our colleges that enrollment is moving up.”
Kilgore College President Dr. Brenda Kays currently serves as board chair of TACC.
“We are excited about the opportunity interface with individuals who will be making decisions based on what they hear from us and actually carrying through the future of post-secondary education,” Kays said. “It is such an honor to welcome them to East Texas, but also to be able to have conversations with each of you.”
U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran represents Texas Congressional District 1, which includes much of the East Texas region.
“As the sole member from Texas to serve on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, I take it very seriously to try to represent all portions of the state when it comes to education policy in Washington, D.C.,” Moran said. “You guys at the community college level know better than anyone that education and the workforce are tied together. You are preparing people to go into the workforce, and we are so pleased to stand together and support you in that effort.
“There is a real dedication to education in East Texas, but I know it’s not just East Texas. Some of you have come from as far away as El Paso and South Texas to be here and talk about policy. We want to listen to you. That is the purpose of this. We want to listen to you and then go back to Washington, D.C., and understand better the kind of policy we can put in place.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg represents Michigan Congressional District 5, which includes the southern portion of his state. Now in his eighth term, Walberg is the longest-serving member of the Michigan delegation in Washington.
Walberg expressed personal reasons in his affinity for the community college mission.
“I have three grown children who started their educational careers at a community college. It didn’t hold them back but, in fact, expanded their opportunities,” Walberg said. “One son was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. My daughter is a dental hygienist and has been a missionary in Uganda for 20 years. And my youngest son is a self-employed blacksmith and machinist. So, community colleges had that impact where my kids not only make a living but contribute to society in unique ways.”
He described his service on the education and workforce committee as a “passion point.”
“It’s a crucial committee and I think more so now than maybe at any time in our history, as we’re wrestling in many ways with who we are, what we should be doing, who we’re competing with, and how we’re going to compete with China,” he said. “Are we going to acquiesce and do just what they’re doing and do it better, or are we going to continue to innovate and build on what we are best at doing and that is innovating?”
Walberg continued, “We need an education system that doesn’t just prepare young people for their first job but one that supports workers of all ages for learning new skills and transitioning into new roles throughout their careers, and that is where community colleges can be a real asset to us. You’re meeting those students, fresh out of high school, some not knowing what they’re going to do and making that first step. You’re meeting adults who are coming back from their employment and needing new skills.
“You have those experiences, and I plead with you in helping us to understand that real-world experience.”