4 min read March 2022 — In an interview with Invest: Anthony Iacono, president of County College of Morris, shared how the college has been successful throughout the pandemic and his vision for the future of the school. Iacono stressed the importance of partnerships with industries throughout New Jersey and explained how they allow the college to prepare students for the future workforce, positively impacting the economy and creating a more equitable and diverse college environment.
What have been some highlights for 2021 and early 2022?
Some of our greatest challenges were our greatest accomplishments simultaneously. Moving everything online was a big undertaking as people had to relearn jobs in a remote environment. During that same period we honored our mission more completely, ensuring students receive a high quality education and that the community is supported. We were able to serve as a vaccination center and thousands of Morris County residents were tested and vaccinated on campus.
We were very excited for the opening of our state-of-the-art 31,500-square-foot advanced manufacturing center. Ninety-one percent of students seeking a job after the advanced manufacturing apprenticeship program land a well-paying job in their field. We did our first ever virtual building opening which was great, used by students in both the workforce development programs and degree seeking programs.
Our county has been extremely supportive and wants to make sure the people of the county have access and opportunities to education. We partnered with the county vocational school district and they will be putting in a building on our campus for high school students taking college courses and earning credits for both simultaneously. At the same time we will be constructing a 12,000-square-foot center for entrepreneurship in partnership with the Morris county Chamber of Commerce.
What are challenges and opportunities in the education sector of NJ?
There are more opportunities than challenges. We try to move across the curriculum and create new programs in our core academic areas to prepare the next generation for tomorrow. The bulk of our challenges are juggling multiple construction projects, making sure people are successful in earning their degrees and transferring students into four-year schools.
In what ways are partnerships benefitting higher education?
We are living in interesting times. There has been a lot of loss and suffering due to the pandemic but at the same time there has also been an acceleration of transformation. It’s great to be able to work with different entities to make sure we educate people to be successful in this emerging economy. A lot of what we do is retraining and upscaling people because technology is moving so fast. We are always partnering closely with our healthcare providers, technology companies, manufacturers and others. We can’t do everything ourselves.
How do your majors relate to the economy of New Jersey?
We work with the Morris County Chamber of Commerce very closely. We host roundtables to hear industries and figure out how to be prepared and design curriculums around the workforce demands of the region. New Jersey is like most states, we compete hard to get businesses here and to keep them here. The New Jersey Council of County Colleges has launched a huge initiative called NJ Pathways where industry and higher ed are tied together. They basically designate colleges to be training hubs so companies can be assured that there is a pipeline of talent that can be produced. It’s a very high efficiency model. We sell people and businesses on New Jersey’s great quality of life and skilled, educated workforce.
How is County College of Morris making access to education more equitable and diverse?
Our best work is always with partners. Several years ago we launched a large-scale equity initiative because we didn’t feel our penetration in some communities was where it needed to be. We have a thriving partnership initiative that ultimately resulted in our Dover college promise program. With that program the college was granted a $100,000 impact grant where we provide mentoring and tutoring for middle and high school students, showing them potential paths ahead of them. We feel that we should provide communities with the skills, education and tools to move forward. The second phase is our workforce programs, which are popular among older students who need to be educated and trained in new skills that will launch them into the workforce. Our graduating lines are getting longer and we are intentional about making that line more diverse. For students with needs beyond finances we have food pantries and partner with county social services and mental health counseling. Our number one job is education, not registration.
25% of our population is Hispanic which is a steep change from five years ago. We want to make sure that the rising population is getting the same tools and access to education. We want to make sure the cost of education doesn’t leave people out in the cold. With CCM you can earn an entire associate degree for around $11,000. Roughly 70% of our students receive financial aid, which means most are not paying anywhere near $11,000 for two years. We have a foundation that has grown and our community is supportive of our mission.
What is your vision moving forward?
There are three major goals but underneath all of them is our equity initiative. We are not going to accomplish much of anything if we don’t cater to the community around us and the individual needs within it. We want to continue expanding our traditional academic programs. We also want to continue expanding our workforce programs because we recognize people will always need up-scaling as time progresses and we also need to account for the amount of people changing career paths. The third piece is supporting our community and working with K-12, supporting healthcare facilities, the rapidly growing tech industry and so forth. It’s about supporting the growth and needs of Morris County.
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