NBA Hall of Famer and Emmy Award-winning sports analyst Charles Barkley praised Alabama’s community colleges as essential pathways to career opportunities during a visit to Southern Union State Community College on Friday. Barkley, an Auburn University alum, emphasized the role of these institutions in improving lives and strengthening communities across the state.
Barkley visited the Opelika campus to visit with students and leaders from the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) and to learn more about the system’s latest statewide campaign, “Make Life Better.”
“That’s exactly what you all do at the Alabama Community College System – you make life better for people from all walks of life, and that’s what education should be about when it comes to preparing people to be successful,” said Barkley, an Auburn University alum.
During his visit, Barkley discussed how Alabama’s community colleges contribute to the state’s workforce and economy. The ACCS recently reported its largest enrollment in a decade with over 170,000 students across all programs, including noncredit workforce credentialing, dual enrollment, associate degrees, apprenticeships, and transfer opportunities.
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The ACCS’s impact on the state is seen and felt with an economic footprint exceeding $6.6 billion. More than 96% of the system’s students currently reside in Alabama, and over 70 percent choose to stay in the state to live and work after completing their studies.
Jimmy H. Baker, Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, said both Barkley’s visit and the system’s tagline will help maximize awareness for what the system offers in academic and workforce development in Alabama.
“Make Life Better is both a call to action and a commitment from every community college in Alabama, and our expectation is that individuals hear Make Life Better and automatically connect the thought to everything their community college represents, from academic and workforce training to the corporate citizenship in service and economic development,” Chancellor Baker said.
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
