Voorhees College recently completed the virtual 2021 United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Institute for Capacity Building Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) site visit.
Darryl Ann Lai Fang, UNCF senior program manager, said Voorhees College has been and continues to be an impactful, leading institution within the CPI cohort. “Interim President Hopkins, your leadership and championing of this program has been key to its overall success. Not only have you championed the CPI program, but you have also institutionalized it and continue to make it a part of the DNA of the institution.”
The site visit included review and assessing the Voorhees CPI leadership team, where UNCF got to welcome aboard the new provost Dr. Damara Hightower-Mitchell and work with Hopkins in his new capacity as interim president.
Also, the team had an opportunity to review and comment on the institution’s recent accomplishments over the last year such as increased enrollment, retention, and graduation and integrating experiential learning courses into the curriculum despite the challenges of COVID-19 and other issues facing the nation.
Because of the experiential learning, students were able to also receive the National Association of Colleges and Employers competency training opportunities. The review team noted that it was clear the institution has well implemented CPI components into their culture further emphasizing the Quality Enhancement Plan, “Strengthening Guided Pathways,” and finalizing the college career map for each department.
Upon completion of the site visit, Voorhees is working towards institutional transformation using the CPI three-pronged approach, guided pathways, integrated co-curricular engagement, curricular enhancements, Voorhees is exceeding expectations and is implementing the grant objectives.
Dr. Ronnie Hopkins, interim president, said strengthening guided career pathways will remain a priority for the college. “I am beyond proud that Voorhees has received national acclaim and distinction for our advancement as a leader in career pathways. Our committed Career Pathways Initiative staff, world-class faculty, and dedicated staff are second to none,” Hopkins said. “Ensuring that Voorhees College optimizes our return on investment by developing, graduating, and maximizing employment placement for our amazing students remains a priority.”
Kimoni Hickman, director of CPI, said a measure of success of guided career pathways is realized in daily interaction with students where it is encouraged to build a mind set with the drive to never except failure. “With the implementation of guided career paths, we have been able to successfully optimize student preparation for high-paying private and public sector careers on a global scale. It is no longer a secret Voorhees College students are second to none, and we take pride in leading out in front.”
The institution was also awarded more than $240,000 from UNCF to operate in the fourth year.
For more information, contact the Office of Communications, at 803-780-1191 or at communications@voorhees.edu.
