A key purpose of the Association is to take responsibility and assume leadership for the professional development efforts of human resource professionals. Developing our future leaders is a high priority; long-term succession planning is critical.  The expanding role of community colleges in our society and the increased rate of retirement at every level mean that we cannot put off what we know we have to do: we must improve our knowledge, our skills, and abilities to respond to the rapidly evolving student and community needs.  Through our institutes we offer a wide variety of professional development opportunities for all HR Professionals, whether this is your first institute, ninth or fifteenth.