Rowan Education Collaborative

If we were playing the popular gameshow Jeopardy, the Rowan Education Collaborative could easily be an answer in a category about e ective partnerships and collaborations. The clue would be: This group is responsible for creating an agile talent framework that promotes prosperity for Rowan County business and residents. And in true Jeopardy style, the answer would be: What is the Rowan Education Collaborative (REC)?

The Rowan Education Collaborative is indeed an e ective partnership among six education, government and economic development entities in Rowan County: • Catawba College • Livingstone College • Rowan-Cabarrus Community College • Rowan County Commissioners • Rowan Economic Development • Rowan-Salisbury Schools (RSS)

Together, this first-of-its-kind, innovative leadership group is working to link and leverage the education assets in Rowan County. Since its founding in 2019, the group has been busy creating an agile framework for the collaborative that includes a strategic vision, key initiatives, and metrics, as well as the creation of work teams focused on work-based learning, data and research, and marketing and branding to build a culture of education in the county.

We are smarter, stronger and better together,” said Greg Edds, Rowan County Commission chair. “By aligning ourselves behind the common goal of creating a robust culture of learning, we can do more and achieve more for our students and our community. We have outstanding resources in Rowan County, and we want to tap into the strengths of each. Instead of silos of excellence, we want to create an alliance of excellence.”

The Rowan Education Collaborative is founded on two underlying beliefs: that our institutions are more alike than they are di erent and that we can accomplish more together than on our own. Solving complex community issues is a team sport that requires alignment as we focus our thinking, combine our resources and remain focused on outcomes. This approach can be applied in any community setting with willing participants who share a clear vision of the future.

The Rowan Education Collaborative is what we call a “No Overhead Organization”. We have no paid sta , we have no o ices and none of the traditional structure of a non-governmental organization, but we are able to accomplish much through our partnerships on projects. Each project is supported with existing assets from the member institutions, whether financial assets, human resources or our knowledge and networks. Our hope is that our example of how individuals and organizations can come together to align and invest in their collective future can help others break the paralysis that o en keeps communities from moving forward to solve key issues.

The Rowan Education Collaborative has put together an impressive list of accomplishments by linking and leveraging their assets to turn their goals into actions and results including the passage of a $45 million bond initiative for the buildout of the Technology Education Complex (TEC) at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and implementing a successful Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Now campaign to remove the mystique and fear associated with completing the funding form.

The REC also has dedicated its time and attention to creating partnerships focused on higher education right here in Rowan County, including establishing a transfer agreement between Catawba College and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College that allows students at Rowan-Cabarrus to seamlessly enroll as juniors, as well as a teacher training initiative between Catawba College and Rowan-Salisbury Schools. Additionally, Rowan-Salisbury Schools Career and Technical Education programs are partnering with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College to provide more students the opportunity to explore careers through the Career & Technical Education (CTE) program.

The REC also stayed busy during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, coordinating safety measures among institutions – most notably, working with Livingstone’s partnership with Ottendorf Laboratories to test employees and students at Livingstone College and Rowan-Cabarrus.

The work of the REC extends into the community, too. The Collaborative is responsible for creating a culture of education in Downtown Salisbury with pole banners in prominent locations that highlight each of the educational entities that make up the Collaborative. The banners are slated to display each year from May to September to celebrate the graduates of local schools and welcome students back to school in each fall.

“Now, more than ever, we must stay focused on the future, and education is one of the most powerful ways we can ensure that we continue to move forward, as individuals and collectively,” said Greg Edds, Chair, Rowan County Board of Commissioners.

Despite all of its accomplishments, the REC plans to continue its work to implement more initiatives that further build and grow a culture of education in Rowan County. ✦

Le -to-Right: Special Assistant to the President Pete Teague (Representing Dr. Anthony Davis), Livingstone College; Dr. Kelly Withers, Rowan-Salisbury Schools Superintendent; Dr. Carol Spalding, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College President; Dr. David Nelson, Catawba College President; Greg Edds, Chair of the Rowan County Commission