Unapologetic Leadership Thought: You ain’t gotta like it, but the hood gonna love it.
by ghubbell | February 13, 2025 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to my son Kamilo Ali Curry playing Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar's song “The Hood Gone Love It.” I was surprised that I never heard the song before, but it immediately reminded me of my motivation for this work. No matter what I do, it’s...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: I’m On An Elevator, I’m On To Something Greater
by ghubbell | January 9, 2025 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Over the holiday break, I was reflecting on 2024 and realized I didn't release as many Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts as I wanted. I had a busy year, with many accomplishments (more on that later), serving the Compton College community, advocating for better policy...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Keep Ya Head Up
by ghubbell | August 21, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
“Keep ya head up, ooo, child things are gonna get easier Ooo, child things are gonna get brighter” Often, I am asked about my thoughts on issues in higher education, and my frustration won’t allow me to share how I really feel because we often are talking about...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: #ComptonStandUp
by ghubbell | June 27, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
For those who have been following my #UnapologeticLeadershipThoughts, you know that I often emphasize the importance of developing community when leading higher education organizations, particularly community colleges. This topic is not just a professional interest;...
Commencement at UCI’s School of Education 2024
by ghubbell | June 17, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Good morning. This is an early commencement ceremony, and I knew it was going to be a packed house for today's event. Let me start by expressing my sincere and wholehearted congratulations to you and your loved ones. Today, we celebrate your monumental achievements...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Don’t Kill My Vibe
by ghubbell | June 8, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Compton, California, is my home and was founded on May 11, 1888. People have all kinds of negative things to say about Compton, but it's a place that many people, including myself, are proud of. Not many people knew or cared about us until we started producing some of...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Last Time I Checc’d (A Reflection on Black Student Success Week)
by ghubbell | May 22, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
I still remember when Herb English, the current Dean of Counseling and Special Programs at Riverside City College and the current president of the African American Male Education Network and Development (A2MEND), mentioned to me that I needed to listen to Nipsey...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: The Rise of the Unapologetic Leader
by ghubbell | March 20, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
In the fall of 2017, I made a conscious decision to change my lifestyle and started to workout at Camp Transformation - La Mirada, and at the time, I lost over 100 pounds (still a journey). I started competing in Spartan Races, and I was a workout machine (I am...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought It’s Time to Get Real: A Playbook to Demand Black Learner Excellence
by ghubbell | February 8, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Since fall 2022, I have had the pleasure of working with HCM Strategists, Achieving the Dream, Equity Avengers, Lumina Foundation, and now with ECMC Foundation to address and promote Black Learner Excellence in higher education. Some might wonder why this is suddenly...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Stop Nickel and Diming Students
by ghubbell | February 1, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Earlier this week, I, along with members of the Compton Community College District Board of Trustees and student leaders, were in Sacramento, CA meeting with our statewide elected officials who represent the students and the community we serve. During our legislative...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: My Most Important Leadership Responsibility
by ghubbell | January 25, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
We are just a couple of weeks into 2024. I already feel overwhelmed with the number of responsibilities I have, which include leading Compton College and Compton Community College District, serving as the National Chair for Level-Up, and as the planning committee...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Supporting Formerly Incarcerated Students
by ghubbell | January 12, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
As an educational leader, I am often asked to serve on graduate students' dissertation committees. I welcome these experiences and find that I learn a lot from them too. Several years ago, I was asked by a graduate student from California State University, Fullerton...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Continued Supporting Post-Secondary Partnership with Prisons
by ghubbell | January 11, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Colleges and universities have a long history of partnering with prisons to provide postsecondary education programs for inmates. Research shows that prison programs are highly significant in producing positive outcomes post-incarceration. One study shows that...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: The Scary Truth About College
by ghubbell | January 10, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
There isn’t much that we all agree upon in higher education, with the exception of one thing: higher education costs too much. I’ve been considering the rising cost of education and the slide in public confidence in our institutions, thinking about how we at Compton...
Unapologetic Thought: Student Mental Health and Wellness
by ghubbell | January 9, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Why is providing student mental health services critical to student success? Mental health issues are growing at an alarming rate on college campuses across the nation. This issue is especially important for Black college students who have a higher risk of facing...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Student Homelessness
by ghubbell | January 8, 2024 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
As we enter the new year, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as president of Compton College and Chief Executive Officer of Compton Community College District for over 13 years. I truly appreciate everyone who has influenced me as a person and as a...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Creating the High School to College to Career Pipeline
by ghubbell | December 6, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
The traditional pipeline from high school to college to career no longer serves the needs of many of today's students. As an educational leader, I have struggled with how to create these pipelines, as you have to build and maintain relationships with K-12 districts,...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: I Guess You Really Want to Talk About Transfer
by ghubbell | November 7, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
As a community college CEO, I am often trying to balance the conversations on my campus and with my colleagues as it relates to student success and the focus of my institution. I am in many conversations about how we can lead and improve adult education, career and...
Unapologetic Leadership: Regaining & Reengaging Adult Learners in Community Colleges
by ghubbell | October 26, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
The number of adults with college credits, but no credential, continues to grow in the U.S. The most recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse show that as of July 2021, this population has grown to 40.4 million. The increase can be seen across every state...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: Let’s Talk About Data
by ghubbell | October 20, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
The past couple of weeks, I have been so busy and been holding so many of my thoughts to myself. I’m still busy, but I really needed to get this thought out. Let’s talk about data. As I reflect on how we utilized data, I think back to when Compton College hired our...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: The Many Conversations on the Total Cost of Tuition
by ghubbell | October 3, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Higher education, as a whole, knows we have a problem. If you tune into the national discourse, there is much discussion around the total cost of tuition and how much it really costs for students to complete their educational goals. In my circles, we talk a lot about...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: Not Debating the Name of the Office Just Advocating for the Work to Continue
by ghubbell | September 15, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Around the country, institutions of higher learning are having conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) offices, programs, and initiatives since they are under attack. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education's data, twenty-two...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: Making Black Student Success Week – This Isn’t a Moment, it’s a Movement
by ghubbell | September 8, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
The term “equity” (I prefer the term “racial equity”) reverberates throughout academia, and yet, the practice remains elusive for far too many institutions. But words become actions, ideas manifest as tangible events, and change unfolds as we mobilize. Today, I invite...
Unapologetic Thoughts: The Public Confidence in Higher Education
by ghubbell | August 31, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
While on social media the other day, I saw a meme with the caption: “Found A College Diploma at Goodwill.” This image has been on my mind lately as I continue to wonder how much confidence potential learners have in higher education and, particularly for me, community...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: Managing the Increased Demands of Being a Leader
by ghubbell | August 24, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
I have been a community college Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for over 12.5 years and am the 12th longest-serving CEO in the California Community College system. Yet, I am still learning about what it takes to do this job. I know that I don’t have all of the answers...
The Realist Thought: Don’t just talk about it, be about it.
by ghubbell | August 21, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
One of the most profound lessons I've learned in my journey as the President of Compton College is the importance of genuinely immersing oneself in supporting greater racial equity in higher education. We hear the word "equity" and "racial equity" thrown around a lot...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: Strategies to encourage Black students to enroll at your institution
by ghubbell | August 18, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Enrollment decline is a real issue affecting higher education institutions nationally. Alarmingly, the disproportionately lower enrollment rates of Black learners continue to decline. Over the last 20 years, 300,000 Black students have been lost from the community...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: Eliminating Barriers and Supporting Student Parents, Unapologetically
by ghubbell | August 17, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Ensuring racial equity in our institutions is a core principle of my approach to unapologetic leadership, which is why it is imperative to me to eliminate barriers to access and ensuring students can succeed at our institutions. I’d like to highlight a population that...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: The Demand for Workers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
by ghubbell | August 11, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Earlier this week, I finally had the opportunity to visit the new location of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement (MESA) Program at Compton College. This year, we are finally receiving funding from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: It’s Game Time – Let’s Address Transfer Pathways
by ghubbell | August 10, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Every day at Compton College, I witness the incredible potential of our students. Many of them come to us as their stepping stone with dreams of transferring to four-year institutions to complete their higher education journey. And yet. Transferring to a four-year...
Unapologetic Leadership Thought: The Path Forward After Affirmative Action
by ghubbell | August 3, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
SInce the U.S. Supreme Court released its bombshell decision barring the practice of Affirmative Action, I have been mulling over Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion, which stated: “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from...
Unapologetic Thoughts: Enrollment Declines and the Value Proposition
by ghubbell | July 28, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
As the cost of a college education continues to rise and many are feeling the pain of record inflation, we are seeing more people question the value of a postsecondary degree or certificate – all while student loans remain unforgiven (I have a lot to say on student...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts: I Always Wanted a Faculty Member Who Looked Like Me
by ghubbell | July 20, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
While in college and graduate school, I always wanted to take a course with a faculty member that looked like me, no matter how many times that did not happen. I really wanted a faculty member who understood what it is to be a person of color or a Black male on a...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts – Holistic Support for Student Success
by ghubbell | July 20, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Adequate support for Black learners requires holistic support. Too often, students walk the campuses of some of the most prestigious universities in the world without having their basic needs met. Students of color are most likely to struggle with meeting these needs....
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts –Supporting First Generation Black Learners
by ghubbell | July 6, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Navigating college from the admissions process to graduation is a daunting task and can be especially intimidating for first generation students. Oftentimes, first generation students face lack of close support, less familiarity with the college experience and its...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts –Adult Student Completion Among Black Learners
by ghubbell | July 6, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Considering the enrollment decline that higher education is facing, recruiting and retaining adult learners has become a key strategy in increasing college-goers. First, I want to begin saying that all of our students are “non-traditional” students. As...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts – Affirmative Action in the U.S. Supreme Court
by ghubbell | June 22, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
As we wait for the decision, I feel it’s important for unapologetic leaders to continue to fearlessly lead our organizations. We also need to make sure once the decision has been made, that we inform our institutions about the decision and any potential impacts....
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts – The Burden of Student Loan Debt on Black Borrowers
by ghubbell | June 12, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
In recent days, both chambers of Congress have passed resolutions to overturn President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program and the Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling on the plan later this month, reigniting public debate about the cost and value of...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts – Community College Dual Enrollment
by ghubbell | June 5, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Dual enrollment can be an integral part of a student's postsecondary path. However, Black students have less access to these programs and enroll at much lower rates than their White peers. According to a Community College Research Center and Aspen Institute report, 12...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts – Free Community College Keith Curry, Ed.D.
by ghubbell | May 30, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Rising costs and the issue of affordability have pushed many Americans out of higher education. As higher education continues to experience enrollment declines, gaps in enrollment between Black students and their white peers are increasing. To address these issues,...
Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts – Trauma-Informed leadership
by ghubbell | May 25, 2023 | Thoughts | 0 Comments
Keith Curry, Ed.D. Amidst a national mental health crisis, depression and anxiety among Black students have risen at an alarming rate. Overall, 40% of Black students experience mental health issues. The significant effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and challenges of...