Mary Laphen Pope serves as strategy officer for participation for Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all.
Laphen Pope joined us from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission where she has worked the last 6 years in positions of progressive responsibility, most recently as the Navigate Reconnect Director. In this role, Mary led a team to support the Tennessee Reconnect statewide initiative, which provides high-touch, wrap-around support to and through college to adult Tennesseans. Prior to her work with Tennessee, Mary worked at Franklin & Marshall College, in Lancaster, PA as a college adviser in the National College Advising Corps. Mary holds an M.Ed. in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University, and a B.A. in English from Gettysburg College.
The college has created an environment that embodies its values and embraces the surrounding landscape as an extension of the teaching and learning environment. From the outdoor classroom where students and community members can learn under the sky to the medicine garden, expertly shaped like a turtle to cultivate traditional medicines and preserve traditional teachings, each step on campus offers more surprises. The rotunda is an architectural beauty that is also deeply spiritual in meaning. Beams fashioned from trees on the land frame the space, and the walls allow light and nature to flood the room—and your imagination.
From excellent student services to beautiful campus facilities, heartfelt community engagement, and dynamic classroom experiences, community colleges embody the dreams and aspirations of their communities.
Something amazing is happening in the Grand Canyon state. Steeped in the rich colors of the Arizona landscape is a multi-campus college with strong community ties and a passion for innovation. Yavapai College is an interesting mix of entrepreneurial thinking, artistic expression, agricultural savvy, and workforce innovation.
What can colleges in the mainland U.S. learn from a small island college in a remote part of Micronesia? A lot! We traveled to the U.S. territory of Guam to understand how they use ingenuity to meet the workforce needs of this unique island. Guam Community College (GCC) is a small but mighty college with impressive industry partnerships that create opportunities for its students to apply what they’ve learned and transform their lives.
If you think about a college’s brand as their reputation—how people experience the college, their perceptions—and what they say about a college, then we know that brand perception matters a great deal in education.
