GTCC Leaders Selected for Prestigious Belk Center Fellowship

Jannifer Knox, vice president for college advancement, and Shannon Burghart, program director and associate professor of early childhood education at GTCC.

Two Guilford Technical Community College leaders have been selected for a prestigious statewide fellowship designed to advance leadership and student success in North Carolina’s community colleges.

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research announced that Jannifer Knox, vice president for college advancement, and Shannon Burghart, program director and associate professor of early childhood education at GTCC, are among thirteen doctoral students selected for the 2026 Belk Center Fellows program.

Launched in 2017–18 with Achieving the Dream’s inaugural cohort of DREAM Fellows, the Belk Center’s Fellows Program later expanded through a partnership with the League for Innovation in the Community College. It brings together selected doctoral students to listen to and engage in national conversations about community colleges and student success.

This spring, the fellows will represent the Belk Center at two national conferences focused on leadership, innovation, and student success in community colleges.

Burghart is one of six fellows selected to attend Achieving the Dream’s DREAM Conference, March 2-5, in Portland, Oregon. The event brings nationwide community college leaders together to discuss strategies for improving student outcomes.

Knox is one of seven fellows attending the League for Innovation in the Community College’s Innovations Conference, March 15-18, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference gathers leaders, faculty, and researchers to explore innovative practices in the field.

For Burghart, the fellowship represents both a professional milestone and an opportunity to deepen her commitment to community college student success.

“When I learned I had been selected as a 2026 Belk Center Fellow, I felt honored and grateful,” Burghart said. “Personally, it was a meaningful affirmation that the long hours of balancing my role at GTCC, doctoral studies, and research are making a real difference for the students and colleagues I care so deeply about.” Both Burghart and Knox look forward to leveraging their fellowship experiences to further support leadership and student success at GTCC.

Burghart said her decision to pursue doctoral work in community college leadership was shaped by the transformative role community colleges play in expanding educational opportunity.

“I have seen firsthand how community colleges change lives, particularly for students who are the first in their families to attend college, students from low-income backgrounds, and working adult learners,” Burghart said. “I wanted the tools, research skills, and leadership preparation to help redesign systems so that student success is not left to chance.”

Through the fellowship, Burghart looks forward to collaborating with leaders from institutions across the country and engaging in discussions on topics such as student success strategies, data-informed decision-making, and innovative approaches to supporting community college students. She hopes this experience will strengthen her ability to translate research into practice in concrete, actionable ways.

“My goal is to bring back ideas that can enhance advising, dual enrollment pathways, and student support structures so that more students can persist, complete, and transition into meaningful careers,” Burghart said. “I also hope to serve as a resource to my colleagues.”

For Knox, the fellowship represents both an affirmation and an inflection point in her doctoral journey.

“Being selected as a 2026 Belk Center Fellow tells me that the questions I am exploring about philanthropy, equity, and resource development in community colleges are not only academically meaningful, but also relevant to the broader field,” Knox said. “This opportunity allows me to step more fully into my identity as a scholar-practitioner, something I never imagined myself saying.”

Knox said her decision to pursue doctoral work in community college leadership felt like the natural extension of a career rooted in higher education and non-profit marketing and philanthropy.

“Working at Guilford Tech feels like home,” she said. “Through the North Carolina Community College Leadership Program, which I participated in during my second year at GTCC, I developed a much deeper appreciation for the mission, impact, and urgency of this work, and I realized I wanted to devote the rest of my career to it.”

Knox hopes to deepen her understanding of how leaders across the country are addressing the most pressing challenges facing community colleges and bring those insights back to GTCC.

“I hope to gain concrete examples, tools, and lessons that I can adapt to my own context as a senior administrator,” Knox said. “I am eager to explore emerging evidence on what actually moves the needle for equitable student success and how philanthropy and strategic partnerships can be leveraged more effectively.”

As Belk Center Fellows, Burghart and Knox will join peers from across the country in exploring research-based strategies and leadership practices designed to improve student outcomes in community colleges.

Their participation in the fellowship reflects GTCC’s ongoing commitment to innovation, leadership development, and advancing opportunities for student success.