Mary S. Spangler is the Chancellor of Houston Community College, one of the largest and most respected community colleges in the nation. As a professor, administrator and national advocate for higher education, Dr. Spangler has devoted her career to community colleges and their students.
As one of the most respected community college leaders in the country, she has successfully managed three of the largest, most diverse and complex urban institutions in the country. For seven years she served as president of Los Angeles City College, the flagship institution of the Los Angeles Community College District. For four years, she was chancellor of Oakland Community College, the largest community college in Michigan. She became the seventh chancellor of the 61,000-student Houston Community College district in March 2007.
Under Dr. Spangler’s leadership, HCC has reached out to communities across the region to provide expanded higher educational opportunities, making the college more essential to the city’s success. During her tenure at HCC, she has reorganized the senior administration to increase efficiency, reduce costs and move more resources to HCC’s six campuses. In addition, Dr. Spangler has forged partnerships among faculty, staff and community stakeholders to leverage resources, maximize return and increase enrollment. She has been instrumental in developing and implementing programs and partnerships through Relevance and Opportunity: A Strategic Plan Essential to Our Future, HCC’s strategic plan designed to be responsive to the community and proactive in ensuring student success.
Currently, Dr. Spangler serves on many boards, including: the Greater Houston Partnership; the Texas Association of Community Colleges; BioHouston; Educational Testing Service’s National Community College Advisory Council; and the Salzburg Seminar Community College International Study Program. She is a Charter Signatory, Leadership Circle Member, and member of the Steering Committee of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
In 2008 she was among 21 college and university leaders across the country invited to contribute an essay to Letters to the Next President: Strengthening America's Foundation in Higher Education. The book was presented to President Obama and our nation’s leaders to provide advice on how to ensure that American educational institutions continue to educate our population in order to compete in a global marketplace.
Previously, she has served on the Board of Directors of the prestigious Detroit Economic Club, the American Association of Community Colleges; the Michigan Community College Association, Oakland County Workforce Development Board, and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
She has been appointed to advisory councils and taskforces by governors Davis (CA), Granholm (MI), and Perry (TX), and senators Hutchison (TX), and Napolitano (AZ). Dr. Spangler was appointed as statutory liaison for the California Community Colleges to the California Academic Partnership Program for a six-year term. She was the only community college CEO named to the National Governors Association Innovation America Task Force (2006-07).
Dr. Spangler’s list of honors includes:
• Inducted by her alma mater, Chestnut Hill College, into the Libris Society in acknowledgement of her wide-ranging contributions in higher education (2005).
• Named among Top 400 movers and shakers in the Detroit metro area by Crain's Detroit Business (2005).
• Honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (2003).
• Received the Distinguished Activity Award for Excellence from the California Community College Council for Staff Development for creating and leading the Administrative Leadership Institute (1999).
• Selected Outstanding Woman in Hollywood (1998).
• Named a Rising Star by the League for Innovation in the Community College (1996).
Prior to her executive roles, Dr. Spangler served as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Student Services, and Associate Dean of Admissions within the Los Angeles Community College District. After completing her Master of Arts degree in English from the University of California at Los Angeles, Dr. Spangler began her career as a professor of English and co‐authored four textbooks on writing. She later earned a Doctorate in Higher Education from UCLA, specializing in community colleges.
In her leadership roles, Dr. Spangler has been at the forefront of change and at the center of some of the most important thinking about the future of education in large, diverse and growing communities. She writes articles and makes frequent presentations at local, state, and national conferences on leadership and staff development, strategic planning, sustainable development, international education, diversity, fund raising, community partnerships, and student life activities.
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