BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Joe May has been invited to testify before the United States Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training at a hearing entitled, "Keeping College Within Reach: Exploring State Efforts to Curb Costs". The hearing will be held Wednesday, July 18, at 9 a.m., Central Time in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

"I am honored to represent the great state of Louisiana and Louisiana's community and technical colleges at the subcommittee on workforce, education and training," said May. "The steps that Louisiana's community and technical colleges have taken through policy change and changes to our business model, have helped us find ways to reduce the cost of higher education while improving services. I firmly believe that our innovative approach and willingness to challenge the status quo can serve as a model for the rest of higher education across the country," he added.

May will be one of four witnesses to testify before the subcommittee, the only representative from Louisiana, and the only representative from the community and technical college sector of higher education. The invitation was extended by Representative Virginia Foxx from North Carolina and Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training. May is also the president of a new organization called Rebuilding America's Middle Class (RAMC). RAMC which is comprised of a group of nearly 100 members of community and technical colleges that have joined together to insure that federal policies support, rather than hinder, the ability of individuals to acquire the skills needed for today's jobs.

Under Dr. May's leadership the LCTCS has grown in unduplicated enrollment from 71,000 to 111,000 since 2006. He has been the driver behind developing and passing landmark legislation that has made available over $200 million in construction funds for technical and community colleges. He also moved adult education from a K-12 program to a community and technical college program, and established a model articulation and transfer initiative that is enabling more students to pursue a baccalaureate degree.

During his career, Dr. May has provided leadership for successful organizations throughout the United States and abroad. His background includes serving in leadership roles in business organizations, as well as public and private colleges and universities. He has provided consulting services to new community college initiatives in Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Dr. May's experience ranges from having served as a counselor and a faculty member to the System President of the Colorado Community College System.

The "Keeping College Within Reach: Exploring State Efforts to Curb Costs" hearing can be viewed live via the web at: http://edworkforce.house.gov/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=302660