News CEOs
Brent Bates will become the sixth president of State Fair Community College (SFCC) starting on July 1. He is currently vice president of educational and student support services at the Missouri college, where he has served for 20 years.
Under Bates’ leadership, SFCC has developed new academic and technical programs along with expanding workforce development. The college has received recognition from local, state and national entities for its expansion of campus operations in several areas, which has opened education and training to more students. Prior to SFCC, Bates was a journalism instructor at Labette Community College in Kansas, where he started in 1987. Before starting his education career, \Bates was a newspaper reporter in Kansas.
Tina King will become president of San Diego College of Continuing Education, which is part of the San Diego Community College District, on July 1. She comes from Southwestern College (SWC) in California, where she has served as assistant superintendent/vice president of student affairs since 2019.
At SWC, King was also dean of the School of Counseling and Student Support Programs. Prior to that, she was interim dean of instruction and student services and director of institutional research and planning for North Orange Continuing Education in Anaheim. King has also served as a student affairs officer and student affairs advisor in the educational leadership department at California State University, Fullerton. Earlier in her career, King was a learning facilitator with the Los Angeles Unified School District and a middle school teacher at the Compton Unified School District.
Kudos
Carlos O. Turner Cortez, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, has received the 2022 Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award from the American Council on Education (ACE). It is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions and demonstrated sustained commitment to diversity in higher education.
“Working primarily with underserved, ethnically diverse student populations from low-income communities, [Cortez] is a passionate leader and advocate for urban education reform. As higher education strives to create more equitable and just outcomes for all students, I can’t think of anyone better to receive this award,” ACE President Ted Mitchell said in presenting Cortez with the award this month at ACE’s annual meeting.
Alex Johnson, president of Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, has received the 2022 TIAA Institute Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education. The annual award recognizes a college or university president or chancellor whose outstanding leadership has made a major contribution to higher education and society. Johnson was presented with the award at the American Council on Education annual meeting this month.
“Echoing the legacy of Father Hesburgh, this great honor underscores the important role that community colleges play in strengthening society by helping individuals to experience the dignity of work and the happiness of a fulfilling life,” Johnson said.
The award is named in honor of the late Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, past president of the University of Notre Dame and longtime member of the TIAA and CREF boards of overseers, who was renowned as an educator, humanitarian and champion of human rights.
Loretta Ovueraye, Miami Dade College’s vice provost for workforce and professional learning, has been selected as one of South Florida’s Most Powerful and Influential Black Business Leaders of 2022 by Legacy South Florida, a business and news publication that highlights the success and achievement of members of the Black community in the region.
Appointments
Phyllis Ellison is now associate vice chancellor of workforce solutions group at St. Louis Community College. Her career experience includes serving as vice president of partnerships and program development at Cortex Innovation Community and director of Startup Connection at the InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum.
Debra Roach, vice president for workforce development at Pennsylvania’s Community College of Allegheny County, has joined the Board of the Consortium for Public Education, which connects K-12 schools with partners and resources to support students in preparing for their futures.
