New CEO
Mario K. Castillo is now the fifth chancellor of the Lone Star College (LSC) system in Texas. Castillo most recently was LSC’s chief operating officer (COO) and general counsel.
Castillo’s responsibilities have increased since joining the system in 2015 as general counsel. In 2016, he was promoted to vice chancellor and general counsel, and the following year was named COO and general counsel. Additionally, Castillo served as interim president at LSC-Kingwood for one academic year.
Prior to joining LSC, Castillo was a partner at Monty & Ramirez, LLP, practicing labor and employment law from 2012 to 2015. During this time, he represented the college as outside counsel. Prior to that, he served as briefing attorney to the Hon. Felix Recio of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Kudos
Peter Provenzano, chancellor of Oakland Community College (OCC) in Michigan, has been named one of the “Notable Leaders in Higher Education” by Crain’s Detroit Business. Crain’s recognizes honorees for their innovative solutions to higher education problems; significant career accomplishments; involvement in non-profits and organizations that enriches the community; and overall contribution to the field of higher education.
The publication cited Provenzano’s vision to move OCC toward a data-informed strategic planning process during the early days of the Covid pandemic to help stabilize enrollment, and his 10-year capital improvement plan to strengthen infrastructure, including a new science and technology building.
This is the second Crain’s award for Provenzano. His first was as Crain’s CFO of the Year awarded in 2012 for his leadership in the government sector.
Obituary
Gary Lamar “Sparky” Reeves, who served South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) for more than 42 years, including as its president from 2004 to 2015, passed away on August 2. He was 74.
Reeves began his career at the college in 1973 as an accounting, math and psychology instructor, then became a vocational instructor supervisor. He later served as vice president of economic development, prior to being named CEO.
During his presidency, Reeves oversaw the renovation of two existing college dormitories, almost doubled the Crisp County Center campus with an expansion, renovated an existing 75-year-old World War II hangar into the Energy and Transportation Center Building, renovated the campus cafeteria, and began a $3.5 million renovation of the college’s Diesel Technology and Automotive Transportation buildings, according to SGTC. He assisted the college in building key partnerships with top businesses such as Caterpillar, John Deere, Georgia Power, Delta, Gulfstream and others.
According to his local obituary, Reeves’ “Every Day is Special” vision grew the college’s foundation from $3.7 million to $8.2 million in assets; eight endowed scholarships to 22 endowed scholarships; and 52 to more than 150 scholarships.
Reeves was the first sitting president in the Technical College System of Georgia system to have the president emeritus status voted on and approved by the boad prior to his official retirement, according to SGTC. He served on the Technical College System of Georgia State Foundation Board after retirement through 2022.
Appointments
Jared Bassham, director of Black River Technical College’s Law Enforcement Training Academy, was recently appointed to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Human Trafficking Task Force. He was also appointed to the task force’s education subcommittee. In February, Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order to prevent human trafficking and to protect the children and youth of Arkansas, which ranks low in terms of public reports of potential human trafficking and convictions.
Brenna Leon Sandeford is the new public information officer at the San Diego College of Continuing Education, which is part of the San Diego Community College District. She previously managed programming, marketing and social media at Southwestern College’s Learning Community Hub.
At Howard Community College (Maryland), Shantay R. Grays is the new provost and executive vice president, and Joy Milfort is vice president of campus services and chief financial officer. Grays comes from Houston Community College (Texas) where she has held several posts since 1998, mostly recently vice chancellor for student services. Milfort previously was assistant vice president for finance and administration for campus life at American University in Washington, D.C.
