AACC’s Leadership Award, an annual tradition since 1982, is presented to individuals whose accomplishments and professional contributions to the community college field have been outstanding.
2019
Helen Benjamin
Former Chancellor of Contra Costa Community College District, CA
Mary Spilde
Retired President of Lane Community College, OR
2018
Preston Pulliams
President, Gold Hill Associates
2017
Judith Eaton
President, Council for Higher Education Accreditation, DC
Rosemary Gillett-Karam
Former Director, Community College Leadership Doctoral Program, Morgan State University, MD
Tony Zeiss
Former President, Central Piedmont Community College, NC
2016
George R. Boggs
President and CEO Emeritus, American Association of Community Colleges and Superintendent/President Emeritus, Palomar College, CA
Brice Harris
Chancellor, California Community Colleges
Wright Lassiter, Jr.
Chancellor, Dallas County Community College District, TX
2015
Bob Barringer
Founder, Gold Hill Associates, CA
Michael B. McCall
President Emeritus, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, KY
2014
Larry Ebbers
University Professor and Professor of Higher Education, Iowa State University
Gunder A. Myran
President Emeritus, Washtenaw Community College, MI
Jerry Sue Thornton
President Emeritus, Cuyahoga Community College District, OH
2013
Jack Scott
Chancellor Emeritus, California Community Colleges
2012
Belle Wheelan
President, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
2011
Kay McClenney
Director, Center for Community College Student Engagement, Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin
Byron McClenney
Project Director, Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin
2010
Christine Johnson McPhail
Managing Partner, The McPhail Group, and Emerita Professor, Morgan State University
2009
Walter G. Bumphus
A.M. Aikin Regents Chair in Junior and Community College Education Leadership, The University of Texas at Austin
William Wenrich
Chancellor Emeritus, Dallas County Community College District
2008
Rod A. Risley
Executive Director, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society of the Two Year College, MS
2007
Zelema Harris
President Emeritus, Parkland College, IL
Mark David Milliron
Suanne Davis Roueche Endowed Fellow, Senior Lecturer, and Director, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), The University of Texas at Austin
2006
Mildred B. Bulpitt
Assistant to Chancellor for Special Projects, Maricopa Community College District, AZ
2005
Shirley B. Gordon
President Emeritus, Highline Community College, WA
2004
Lawrence W. Tyree
Professor and Director, Institute of Higher Education, University of Florida
Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr.
Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, College of Education, Arizona State University
2003
Jan LeCroy
Chancellor Emeritus, Dallas County Community College District, TX
2002
Johnas “Jeff” Hockaday
Chancellor Emeritus, Pima Community College District, AZ
David Ponitz
President Emeritus, Sinclair Community College, OH
2001
David Pierce
President Emeritus, American Association of Community Colleges, DC
2000
Dale Campbell
Professor and Director, Institute of Higher Education, University of Florida
1998
Donald Phelps
W.K. Kellogg Regents Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
1997
Suanne Davis Roueche
Director, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, TX
1996
Anne E. Mulder
Program Professor of Higher Education, Center for the Advancement of Education, Nova Southeastern University, FL
George B. Vaughan
Associate Director, ACCLAIM, North Carolina State University
Paul A. Elsner
Chancellor, Maricopa Community College District, AZ
1995
Arthur Cohen
Founding Director, ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges and President, Center for the Study of Community Colleges, CA
Carolyn Desjardins
Co-founder and Executive Director, National Institute for Leadership Development, AZ
1994
Richard Alfred
Associate Professor for the Center of the Study of Higher Education, University of Michigan
George Baker
Joseph D. Moore Professor of Community College Leadership, College of Education and Psychology, North Carolina State University
Terry O’Banion
Executive Director, League for Innovation in the Community College, CA
1993
Dale Parnell
President Emeritus, American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, DC
1992
Edmund J. Gleazer, Jr.
President Emeritus, American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, DC
1991
The Honorable Wilhelmina R. Delco
Speaker Pro Tempore, State Legislature, TX
1990
K. Patricia Cross
Conner Professor of Higher Education, University of California at Berkeley
1989
Ernest L. Boyer
President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NJ
1988
S.V. Martorana
Professor of Education, Pennsylvania State University
1987
James L. Wattenbarger
Director and Professor, Institute of Higher Education, University of Florida
1986
John E. Roueche
Professor and Director, Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin
1985
Margaret Mosal
Executive Director, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, MS
1984
Bill J. Priest
Chancellor Emeritus, Dallas County Community College District, TX
1983
Joseph P. Cosand
Former Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, MI
1982
C. Colvert
Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas at Austin
Lamar Johnson
Professor of Higher Education, University of California at Los Angeles