Vision for Opportunity

Book excerpt: John Edward Roueche is the most productive and the most recognized community college leader in the history of the community college movement. He is a person with remarkable vision and over the decades has demonstrated an uncanny ability to scan the horizon of higher education, identify emerging issues—or issues that should emerge—and place them squarely before leaders and practitioners in the field. Throughout his career, Roueche has powerfully led the community college field by recognizing, often long before others do, areas of potential opportunity or impending concern—and addressing them through prolific research, writing, and speaking. This book explores the influence of John on individual lives and community colleges across the United States. Through stories and research of his years in the community college vineyard, the book follows the professional chronology of John’s life from childhood to today. While segments of his life history are included in the chapters, this is not a biography. This work is a collection of voices on the impact of John from many perspectives. Themes run throughout the chapters that paint a picture of this man. Hopefully you, the reader, will smile, laugh, reflect, and enjoy the life and influence of John Edward Roueche.