Updated 5:09 p.m.
The board of trustees for the Alamo Colleges District Thursday night unanimously chose Palo Alto College President Mike Flores to succeed Chancellor Bruce Leslie, who has held the district’s top post for 11 years.
When Flores takes the reins after Leslie retires in September, he’ll have almost 20 years of institutional knowledge to guide him.
“I’ve been here since 1999, and I’ve seen the evolution of south San Antonio, south Bexar County and of the college,” Flores told Mayor Ron Nirenberg during a Facebook Live event at Palo Alto on Wednesday.
“It’s a great place to be because of the mission that we have and providing hope and opportunity to our students, but in many ways it’s an economic strategy,” Flores added. “Eighty percent of our students earn a credential or degree and they stay in this community.”
Palo Alto student Alicia Moreno is the student trustee for the Alamo Colleges district and was on the chancellor search committee. She said the search committee recommended three candidates to choose from.
“Dr. Flores is amazing. I’ve had the opportunity to work with him personally on my campus, so I can definitely attest to his passion for higher education and student success,” Moreno said. “He’s been such an innovative leader.
“He has introduced and expanded early college high school and dual credit programs. He has worked with industry partners like Toyota to bring workforce degree programs into Palo Alto College.”
Flores has been president of Palo Alto College since 2012.
The Alamo Colleges District has almost 60,000 students and an annual operating budget of more than $300 million. About half of the district’s budget comes from local taxpayers.
As required by Texas law, there will be a 21 day period before Flores is officially confirmed as the next chancellor.
Camille Phillips can be reached at Camille@tpr.org or on Twitter @cmpcamille
This story was updated with a quote from Palo Alto student Alicia Moreno.
