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.
She has successfully led three of the largest, most diverse and complex urban institutions in the country. She served as president of Los Angeles City College, the flagship institution of the Los Angeles Community College District and chancellor of Oakland Community College, the largest community college in Michigan.
Since becoming the seventh chancellor of the Houston Community College district in March 2007, Dr. Spangler increased access from 55,000 to 70,000 students in under three years. In her leadership roles, she 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. Dr. Spangler has successfully led complex institutions undergoing strategic reorganization.
Under her 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. She has reorganized the senior administration to increase efficiency, reduce costs and move more resources to HCC’s six colleges. 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.
Dr. Spangler serves on many boards, including: The Greater Houston Partnership; Texas Association of Community Colleges; Community College Leadership Forum of The Education Advisory Board; BioHouston; and Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) National Community College Advisory Council. She is Executive Committee Co-Chair of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and has received numerous honors and awards recognizing her leadership and service to the communities she has served. The most recent include “2009 Educator of the Year” from the Arab American community in Houston and being named one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Houston” by Houston Woman Magazine.
Dr. Spangler has been appointed to advisory councils and taskforces by governors Davis (CA), Granholm (MI), and Perry (TX), and senators Hutchison (TX), and Napolitano (AZ). She was the only community college CEO named to the National Governors Association Innovation America Task Force (2006-07).
Dr. Spangler writes articles and makes frequent presentations at local, state, and national conferences on leadership and professional development, strategic planning, sustainability, the international and global issues as they impact higher education, diversity and inclusiveness, fund raising and cost effectiveness, community partnerships, and innovation. She holds a Doctorate in Education and a Masters in English from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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