The Community College Experience

Amy Baldwin, M.A. is a pioneering educator and educational entrepreneur. She wrote the first, groundbreaking student success textbook for community colleges and for first-generation students. In response to nationwide demand, in 2011 she founded Educational Frontiers Group (EFG), which provides educational services, such as consulting, professional development, and educational novelties. As a result of her work with national initiatives such as Complete College America, Achieving the Dream, and the Developmental Education Initiative, she has become one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and workshop facilitators on student success and engagement topics. After 18 years as a community college professor at Pulaski Technical College where she was awarded the 2066 Susan Faulkner Award for Exceptional Teaching for the Two-Year College English Association Southwest Chapter, she now serves as Director of University College at the University of Central Arkansas. She is committed to and gained considerable acclaim for her efforts toward helping students get in, get through, get out, and get paid.

Brian Tietje, Ph.D. is a thought-leader in higher education and a passionate advocate for student success, particularly those who face challenging circumstances and who aren’t familiar with the unwritten rules of college and career success. Brian took his life experiences and determination from rural Ohio cross-country as he traversed educational and corporate ladders to reach an executive leadership position in higher education. He presently serves as Vice Provost of International, Graduate and Extended Education at Cal Poly State University, and serves on the Board of Directors of several private and not-for-profit organizations. He is continually pursuing opportunities for educational innovation to meet the needs of students and employers. Prior to his administrative leadership career, Brian was awarded the Orfalea College of Business Distinguished Teacher Award in 2000 and 2001 at Cal Poly, and the Most Outstanding Marketing Faculty award in 2002, 2003, and 2004, all at Cal Poly.

Dr. Paul G. Stoltz is a New York Times #1 bestselling author, and considered the world’s foremost authority on the science and method of measuring and strengthening GRIT(TM), also known as ＂GRIT 2.0＂. His methods and teachings are used at Harvard, MIT, Cornell, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and by top organizations in 63 countries. Paul was selected as One of the Top Ten Most Influential Global Thinkers by HR Magazine, One of the Top 100 Thinkers of Our Time, by Executive Excellence, and Millennial Thought Leader, in Singapore. He’s the originator of the globally acclaimed AQ(R) (Adversity Quotient(R)) theory and method adopted worldwide. Dr. Stoltz has been featured in much of the world’s top media, including Fortune, Forbes, Success, Business Week, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Asia 21, Fox, ABC Nightly News, NBC, CBS, The Today Show, and multiple appearances on The Oprah Show. He is founding director of the GRIT Institute, and the Global Resilience Institute, conducting research in 29 countries, as well as Founder and CEO of PEAK Learning, Inc., the global research and consulting firm he formed in 1987. Applying his vast experience and research in higher education specifically to students in their first year of college, is a long-term goal of his. Developing effective strategies toward college completion -- and sustainable employment -- has never been timelier.