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PRESS RELEASE Contact: Carmon Cunningham (617) 728-4446 ccunningham@jff.org     FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2004 METLIFE FOUNDATION COMMUNITY EXCELLENCE AWARDS Boston, MA, February 5, 2004 Seven institutions across the country have been selected as finalists for the 2004 MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award. Each finalist combines determined leadership, innovative programming, and attention to outcomes throughout the college, leading to demonstrable improvements in meeting the varied learning needs of low-income, first-generation, immigrant, and working students. The seven finalists for the prestigious award are Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Bunker Hill Community College (Boston, Massachusetts), City College of San Francisco (San Francisco, California), Community College of Denver (Denver, Colorado), San Jacinto College North (Houston, Texas), San Juan College (Farmington, New Mexico), and Tallahassee Community College (Tallahassee, Florida). MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award brings national attention to community colleges that, throughout the institution, promote educational and economic advancement for underserved youth and adults. Through the award, MetLife Foundation accelerates the diffusion of effective practices and policies by highlighting institutions that are committed to improving the education of underserved students—and are demonstrating better outcomes for these students. The two winners of the 2004 MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award will be announced on April 26 at the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges in Minneapolis. Each winning institution will receive $30,000. West Hills Community College of California’s San Joaquin Valley and Sinclair Community College of Dayton, Ohio, are the recipients of the first MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award, announced in 2002. Their achievements are detailed in A Future That Works: First-Person Accounts of Community Colleges That Change Lives, available from Jobs for the Future, which administers the award for MetLife Foundation. JFF is one of the nation’s leading organizations creating strategies for educational and economic opportunity. A Future That Works and more information on the MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Awards are available on the JFF Web site (www.jff.org). MetLife Foundation, established in 1976 by MetLife, supports health, education, civic, and cultural programs throughout the United States. The Foundation has contributed more than $90 million to education programs that facilitate change and cultivate effective learning environments at school and at home. For more information about the Foundation, please visit the Web site at www.metlife.org. Founded in 1983, Jobs for the Future is a leading innovator in strategies to accelerate education and career advancement for both young people and adults. Jobs for the Future provides research, consulting, and technical assistance on education and workforce development issues to public and private organizations throughout the United States and abroad. For more information on JFF, please visit the Web site at www.jff.org.  ###    Jobs for the Future seeks to accelerate the educational and economic advancement of youth and adults struggling in today's economy. JFF partners with leaders in education, business, government, and communities around the nation to: strengthen opportunities for youth to succeed in postsecondary learning and high-skill careers; increase opportunities for low-income individuals to move into family-supporting careers; and meet the growing economic demand for knowledgeable and skilled workers. For more information about Jobs for the Future, please visit the Web site at www.jff.org.