In this book, Carrie B. Kisker illustrates how community colleges can utilize design thinking to identify and evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities, and experiment with the internal changes necessary to optimize outcomes for stakeholders. Kisker outlines a process whereby college leaders can empower faculty and staff to think creatively about how to reduce their institution’s dependence on state allocations in ways that not only are consistent with the college’s mission and values, but also provide the greatest likelihood for institutional and student success. The book presents evidence drawn from case studies at four community colleges along with in-depth qualitative interviews with leaders, faculty, and staff who have been involved in their institution’s entrepreneurial efforts. The featured colleges—Maricopa Community Colleges (AZ), Tarrant County College (TX), North Iowa Area Community College, and Valencia College (FL)—all have long histories of engaging in entrepreneurial initiatives. By telling the stories of several influential community college leaders’ experiences with entrepreneurship—using design thinking as a framework for understanding their successes and failures—Kisker provides a road map for colleges to move beyond their historical pattern of incremental responses to external pressures, and instead begin to innovate in a creative, mission-oriented way. "In this engaging book, Carrie Kisker wows us with the stories, data, and practices of a rural community college in Iowa and urban ones in Phoenix and Fort Worth that are using design thinking to create opportunity for students and prosperity for communities." -Rebecca A. Corbin, president and chief executive officer, the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. "Kisker highlights the work of community college innovators who involved wide-ranging stakeholders--including faculty, college administrators, and employers--in collaborative ventures that respond to community needs while at the same time generating badly needed revenues. The result is a compelling analysis of how community college leaders might sustain institutional commitment to community betterment even as government appropriations decline. -James C. Palmer, professor emeritus of higher education, Illinois State University "Carrie Kisker's work with four of our exemplar community colleges could not be better timed as we look toward a post-COVID era for community colleges. It will help largely risk-averse cultures purposefully forge new, more entrepreneurial futures for our ditigal age of constant, rapid change that is transforming out college landscape before our very eyes." -Kevin Drumm, founding board chairman, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and president, SUNY Broome Community College "The significance of this book is twofold. First, it provides an impactful example of design thinking to solve a complex problem, providing community college leaders a framework to solve different problems. Second, the book makes arguments for shifting the mindset of community college leaders to seek entrepreneurial opportunities for their colleges rather than relying on state-level funding as a means of solving the financial strains that most community colleges across the country feel. The books show that being entrepreneurial goes beyond addressing budget issues. For example, a stakeholder-centered approach can strengthen business and industry partnerships, leading to better education and workforce alignment that improves labor market outcomes and provides students a pathway out of poverty. The author's use of real-life stories to demonstrate each stage of the framework brings understanding beyond what design thinking is and why we should use design thinking, to show how it is done. Even if the stories do not precisely depict the complex problem you are trying to solve, reading this book will significantly help you understand how to implement designthinking into your problem-solving." -Teacher's College Record Carrie B. Kisker illustrates how community colleges can utilize design thinking to identify and evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities, and experiment with the internal changes necessary to optimize outcomes for stakeholders. Kisker outlines a process whereby college leaders can empower faculty and staff to think creatively about how to reduce their institution’s dependence on state allocations in ways that are not only consistent with the college’s mission and values, but also provide the greatest likelihood for institutional and student success. Drawing from case studies at four community colleges, Kisker provides a roadmap for colleges to move beyond their historical pattern of incremental responses to external pressures, and instead innovate in a creative, mission-oriented approach. “In this engaging book, Carrie Kisker wows us with the stories, data, and practices of a rural community college in Iowa and urban ones in Phoenix