As rural community colleges across the nation confront increasingly complex challenges with limited resources, Highland Community College and the Rural Community College Alliance (RCCA) are joining forces to develop a new model for preparing the leaders who will shape the future of rural higher education.
The strategic partnership brings together Highland's commitment to institutional innovation and RCCA's national expertise in rural community college leadership to create a comprehensive approach to executive development, leadership succession, and organizational effectiveness.
RCCA President Dr. Chris Breitmeyer visited Highland Community College on Friday, October 23, 2026, meeting with College leadership to discuss the partnership and advance plans for the initiative. The visit underscored the organizations' shared commitment to strengthening rural higher education and developing a leadership model with the potential to benefit community colleges nationwide.
"The future of rural America is deeply connected to the future of its community colleges," said Dr. Vincent Bowhay, President of Highland Community College. "These institutions are more than places of learning. They are pathways to opportunity, catalysts for economic growth, and anchors of the communities they serve. If we believe in the future of rural America, we must invest in the people who will lead its institutions forward."
Addressing a National Challenge
Rural community colleges occupy a distinctive place in American higher education. Their leaders are expected to serve as educators, workforce strategists, financial stewards, community advocates, and agents of institutional change, often with smaller administrative teams and fewer resources than their larger counterparts.
At the same time, many of the most promising leaders at rural institutions rise through the ranks because of their talent, dedication, and institutional knowledge, without always having access to the executive development opportunities available at larger organizations.
Highland and RCCA believe this challenge presents an opportunity to rethink how rural colleges identify, develop, and support leadership talent.
"Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not," Bowhay said. "Some of the most extraordinary leaders in higher education are already working at rural community colleges. Our responsibility is to recognize their potential, invest in their development, and create pathways for them to lead. This partnership is about ensuring that the next generation of rural college leaders has the preparation, confidence, and support to succeed."
From Leadership Development to Institutional Transformation
Central to the partnership is a proposed Executive Leadership Academy that will provide Highland's executive team and emerging institutional leaders with structured, practical leadership development tailored to the realities of rural higher education.
Rather than relying on traditional seminars or isolated professional development activities, the initiative is designed to integrate leadership learning with the College's ongoing strategic priorities.
The partnership envisions five interconnected areas of work:
- Executive Leadership Academy: An applied learning experience addressing strategic planning, fiscal stewardship, student success, enrollment management, governance, organizational culture, and institutional effectiveness.
- Individualized Executive Coaching: Personalized mentoring and coaching to help leaders navigate complex decisions, strengthen professional competencies, and prepare for expanded responsibilities.
- National Leadership Networks: Opportunities to collaborate with rural community college leaders across the country, exchange promising practices, and learn from institutions confronting similar challenges.
- Strategic Communication and Organizational Effectiveness: Support for organizational alignment, institutional storytelling, stakeholder engagement, and effective change management, potentially in collaboration with Varsity Communications.
- Leadership Capstone Projects: Institutionally focused projects that challenge participating leaders to apply their learning to meaningful improvements in student success, operational effectiveness, and institutional performance.
The initiative is intended to strengthen Highland's leadership capacity while exploring a replicable approach that could ultimately benefit rural community colleges across the nation.
A Partnership with National Potential
For RCCA, the collaboration represents an opportunity to connect national perspectives on rural higher education with a focused, institution-based approach to leadership development.
"Rural community colleges play an extraordinary role in shaping the future of their communities, and that work depends on strong, capable leaders," said Dr. Chris Breitmeyer, President of the Rural Community College Alliance. "We are excited about the opportunity to partner with Highland Community College to develop leadership capacity, strengthen institutional effectiveness, and create a model for leadership development that can benefit rural institutions across the country."
The initiative reflects a shared belief that strengthening rural higher education requires more than responding to immediate operational challenges. It requires intentionally building the leadership capacity, organizational systems, and institutional culture necessary for long-term success.
For Highland, the partnership also represents an opportunity to contribute to a broader national conversation about the future of rural colleges.
"We are not interested in simply participating in conversations about the challenges facing rural higher education," Bowhay said. "We want to help develop solutions. If the work we do at Highland can inform how other rural colleges prepare their leaders, strengthen their institutions, and serve their communities, then our impact extends well beyond the students we enroll or the communities we serve."
Part of a Broader Vision for Highland's Future
The partnership supports Highland's strategic plan, One Highland: One Mission, Endless Impact (2025–2030), which emphasizes institutional excellence, student success, and long-term sustainability.
It also complements the College's recently awarded federal Title III Strengthening Institutions Program grant, One Highland: Powering Rural Futures.
With approximately $1.6 million awarded in its first year, the Title III initiative will support expanded student services, a new Office of Institutional Effectiveness, faculty development, and technology improvements designed to strengthen student success.
Together, these initiatives reflect Highland's commitment to building an institution capable of adapting, innovating, and responding to the evolving needs of rural students and communities.
"Great institutions are not built by accident. They are built by people who have the courage to imagine something better and the capacity to make it happen," Bowhay said. "We are investing in our people because we believe in what they can accomplish. And we are investing in the future of Highland because we believe rural students and communities deserve nothing less than excellence."
As the partnership develops, Highland and RCCA will continue refining the leadership academy, coaching opportunities, and applied learning experiences, with the long-term goal of generating lessons that can be shared with other rural institutions.
About Highland Community College
Founded in 1858 as the first college in Kansas, Highland Community College has a longstanding tradition of expanding educational opportunity and strengthening the communities it serves. Today, the College provides academic transfer programs, career and technical education, workforce development, and student support services throughout Northeast Kansas and beyond. Guided by its strategic plan, One Highland: One Mission, Endless Impact, Highland is committed to innovation, student success, and institutional excellence.
About the Rural Community College Alliance
The Rural Community College Alliance is a national organization committed to advancing the interests and strengthening the capacity of rural community colleges. Through advocacy, professional development, collaboration, and national engagement, RCCA supports institutions and leaders working to expand educational opportunity, strengthen rural economies, and improve the vitality of rural communities.