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1 9 6 H a r t f o r d Goodwin College By giving their students an opportunity to gain a foothold in growing career fields, Goodwin College provides both an educational service and a boost to employers looking for qualified workers. G oodwin College was founded in 1999 with the goal of transforming a small business technology train- ing center into a regional force for economic development and educational access. Within its first 10 years, Goodwin College garnered an impressive list of milestones, including the develop- ment of one of Connecticut's best nursing programs, approval to offer bachelor's degrees, and the construc- tion of a new campus on the Connecticut River in East Hartford. Built on a remediated brownfield, the cam- pus is often cited as the standard for smart growth and has won a host of design and environmental awards, including Project of the Year from the Northeastern Economic Developers Association, the leading eco- nomic development organization in the northeast. While keeping an eye on a broader educational per- spective, Goodwin has made a priority of catering to a student population that is often underserved in the state's higher education system. More than half of Goodwin's 3,000 attendees are first-generation college students and the student body reflects the diversity of the Hartford metropolitan area. The college's career-focused pro- grams lead to strong employment outcomes for its gradu- ates: More than 80 percent find employment in their chosen field or opt to advance their education. Retaining at-risk students and placing them in the workforce requires and array of innovative student supports. Goodwin College's approaches are truly trend setting. Goodwin identifies and tracks the prog- ress of students who are at risk of failing and employs a case-management approach which includes individu- alized counseling, advising and tutoring. For students facing financial hardships, the college operates its own food and diaper banks and providing below-market temporary housing for students in transition. In line with its focus on student success, Goodwin aggressively seeks to leverage partnerships and grant opportunities to develop new programs aimed at col- lege completion. One such program, Men of Vision and Education, or MOVE, is aimed squarely at one of the most vexing social problems facing the Hartford region — low rates of college completion among disad- vantaged male students. The program, formed in partnership with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, is demonstrating that a case-management approach can help these students complete work for a college degree at a higher rate than their peers, despite serious challenges. By giving these students an opportunity to gain a foothold in growing career fields, Goodwin College provides both an educational service and a boost to employers looking for qualified workers. By building the state's largest nursing program, for example, Goodwin has helped to alleviate what policymakers characterized as a critical shortage of trained nurses in the state. Other niche programs also have an impact. In 2009, Goodwin's training program in histology, a lab specialty related to cancer diagnoses, was No. 1 in Above: Goodwin's riverfront campus in East Hartford has won awards for both design and environmental impact. Today, over 3,000 students attend classes at a site that was once a contaminated brownfield. Below: Being a good neighbor is engrained in the culture of Goodwin. Pictured are volun- teers from the 2010 Rebuilding Together community cleanup.