More than 200 community stakeholders and NVCC faculty and staff gathered within the Mainstage Theater at NVCC on Sept. 6 to rally around the success of the College’s 2010-2013 Strategic Plan, Toward a Splendid College, and begin conversations about the 2013-2016 agenda.

The event marked the first time members of the community were invited to partake in the annual College meeting, in order to further involve area leaders in NVCC’s growth and success.

Attendees enjoyed a light breakfast, and then heard from NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D., about the goals and events beginning in 2013-2014.

“The new academic year brings with it the promise of continued engagement and rewarding teaching and learning experiences,” President De Filippis said. “As you have experienced, we are organized in multiple ways to support our students and our expectation is that they will achieve their goals and be successful.”

Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary and Naugatuck Mayor Robert Mezzo were amongst the community leaders speaking about ways NVCC has bettered the community and sharing ideas to further strengthen their shared mission of improving the lives of area residents.

“What I like most about the continued enrollment rise at NVCC is many of those people are from Waterbury, which means lives are becoming better,” Mayor O’Leary said. “We have really made some huge impacts by collaborating together. We've seen our children graduate from high school, come here, being welcomed at the door and given huge opportunities.”

Attendees also participated in round-table discussions about the College’s initiatives to help leaders assess ways to strengthen and improve existing programs and services.

Highlights within NVCC’s final report for the 2010-2013 strategic plan include increases in the graduation rate by 100%, certificate completion rate by 457%, and full-time enrollment rate by 10%. 

“As we consider the rich conversations we will have today around our own strategic plan, and the ones to be had in the weeks to come as we dream of a brighter future for our Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, the concept of putting students first and of being engines of change in support of our communities should inform our engagement,” President De Filippis said.

Major components of the 2013-2016 plan include deepening the college-wide advising plan, improving outcomes for underrepresented groups, improving job placement efforts and building workforce pathways in high-demand careers.