Newark's Ohlone College Eligible For 2023 Aspen Prize

FREMONT, CA — An Alameda County community college just became eligible to win the $1 million Aspen Institute prize.

Ohlone college — with campuses in both Fremont and Newark — was named among the 150 campuses that will go on to compete for the prize, officials said.

The institution reportedly stood out among more than 1,000 community colleges nationwide for having high levels of student success as well as "equitable learning outcomes for Black and Hispanic students and those from lower-income backgrounds," Aspen Institute officials wrote in a statement.

This is the first time Ohlone College has been recognized by the Aspen Institute.

"This is an incredible achievement and I believe an absolute honor to be invited as one of the top 150 institutions eligible to compete for this distinction," said Eric Bishop, Ohlone College superintendent and president.

"It really says a lot about our college community," he said. "This is a credit to the work of our incredible faculty and staff, and the ongoing efforts that result in the outcomes and the success rates we’ve had in terms of student transfers. This is also recognition of the work Ohlone College is doing in terms of equity and innovation. This is just the beginning, and it’s only going to get better."

The Aspen Institute recognized colleges across 34 states, with campuses serving anywhere between 230 students to 57,000 students.

"In an era of persistent inequity and workforce talent gaps, our nation’s best community colleges are stepping up to deliver more degrees to increasingly diverse students so they are prepared for the good jobs waiting to be filled," said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.

In the first round, eligibility for the $1 million prize is based on publicly available data, the organization said. To become eligible, colleges must show strong incomes in retention, completion, transfer and equity.

Next the Aspen Institute will select the top 10 finalist with a panel of 15 higher education experts, which will be announced in the spring or summer of 2022.

Then, a jury will also meet to make award decisions in early 2023, and the finalist will be announced in late spring of 2023.

See the full list 150 contenders here.