The College Excellence Program will announce the first-ever winner and finalists with distinction of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. will feature high-level representatives from the government, business, philanthropy, and education communities, including remarks by Dr. Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. With support from the White House, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Prize is the first national recognition of the extraordinary accomplishments in community colleges. Aspen, in partnership with the Joyce and Lumina Foundations and the Charitable Foundations of Bank of American and JPMorgan Chase, will award the nation’s top community college and four finalists with distinction with $1 million dollars in prize funds for delivering exceptional results in helping students succeed in learning, completion and in securing well-paying jobs.

Colleges recognized by the Aspen Prize serve as models and laboratories for identifying practices that can elevate community college education. This is extremely meaningful to the 6 million students who rely on the nearly 1,200 community colleges nationwide, particularly low-income, Hispanic and African American students who are under-represented in higher education.

Attendance is by invitation only, though the event will be webcast at http://as.pn/live.