Name: Howard Spearman
Job Title: President
Institution: Rock Valley College (IL)
Since: 2020
Previous Positions: VPSA, Madison College (2019-202); VPSA, (2015-2019); Dean, Advising and Retention (2014-2015); Director, Transfer Advising and Student Success (2013-2015), Manager, Academic and Transfer Advising (2011-2013), Rock Valley College.
Affiliations and/or Boards: Alignment Rockford, Board Member; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Life Member; Boys and Girls Club of Rockford, Board Member, First Vice Chair; ComEd – An Exelon Company, Communities of the Future Rockford Advisory Council; Growth Dimensions, Boone County Board of Directors, Board Member; OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center Community Advisory Board; Region 1 Planning Council, Governing Board Member; The Workforce Connection Board, Board Member; Scouts of America, Executive Committee Member.
State Engagement: Illinois Community College Council of Presidents, Member; Illinois Community College Council of Presidents, Phi Theta Kappa Presidential Ambassador; Illinois Community College Board Adequacy and Equity and Community College Funding
Past AACC Conventions Attended: 2025, 2024, 2023
Past AACC Professional Development Participation: AACC Commission on Structure Pathways (2024-2027); Presidents Roundtable/Thomas A. Lakin Institute for Mentored Leadership, Presenter (2025); AACC PASI (2023, 2024, 2025).
Education: Ph.D., Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service, Cardinal Stritch University; MSE, Student Affairs and College Counseling, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh; BS, Human Services, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Other: Senior Academic Advisor/Multicultural Student Coordinator/Interim, PreCollege Director, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, 2004–2011; Multicultural Advisor/PreCollege Programs Director/Admissions Counselor and Multicultural Recruiter, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 1998-2004.