Creating a Culture of Innovation in the Community College

As we approach the second decade of the new millennium, there is a renaissance of innovation in education, a resurgence of interest and experimentation that begs for analysis and review. To that end, the League for Innovation in the Community College proposed to conduct a national study on the nature of innovation in the community college using recipients of its Innovation of the Year award from 1999 through 2008 as a data set. With funding from MetLife Foundation, researchers examined these innovations and explored the perspectives of the winners of these awards. In September 2009, a survey created by the researchers with assistance from a focus group—field-tested on a sample of winners not included in the project and vetted by a national advisory committee—was distributed electronically to the 400 award winners; 117 respondents returned surveys for a return rate of 29%. In addition to the survey, more than 40 of the award winners were interviewed using interview questions created by the researchers and vetted by the national advisory committee. The full report and all project findings can be accessed at www.league.org/natureofinnovation. Based on the findings from this national study on the nature of innovation, this article addresses the challenge of creating a culture of innovation in the community college. The characteristics of a culture that support and encourage innovation and the role of leaders in shaping that culture are featured in the article.