November 2, 2017
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez to serve as chair of HACU Governing Board, new members announced
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Governing Board has elected as its chair Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, president of Queens College, CUNY. Matos Rodríguez replaces William V. Flores, former president of the University of Houston, Downtown.
Matos Rodríguez began serving on HACU’s Governing Board in 2012-13. His distinguished career spans both academia and the public sector. Having served as president of Eugenio María de Hostos Community College/CUNY prior to Queens College, Matos Rodríguez is one of the few educators in the U.S. who has served as president of both baccalaureate and community college institutions.
Other newly elected officers are: vice chair Monte E. Pérez, president of Los Angeles Mission College; and secretary Sue Henderson, president of New Jersey City University. They join treasurer Beatriz T. Espinoza, president of Coastal Bend College, and past chair Tomás D. Morales, president of California State University, San Bernardino, as part of the executive committee.
“We are honored to have Félix V. Matos Rodríguez serve as chair of HACU’s Governing Board,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “We are also very grateful for the extraordinary leadership and contributions made by our outgoing board members.”
Newly elected board members include:
Chancellor Michael D. Amiridis, University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to becoming UIC chancellor in March 2015, Amiridis spent over two decades as a professor, researcher and senior administrator at the University of South Carolina. He is a native of northern Greece, and a first-generation college student, who came to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies in chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Chancellor Howard Gillman, University of California, Irvine. Gillman became the sixth chancellor of the University of California, Irvine in September 2014. He is an award-winning scholar and teacher with an expertise in the American Constitution and the Supreme Court. A native of Southern California, Gillman grew up in North Hollywood and was a first-generation college student. Gillman is the first CEO from the UC System to serve on the HACU Board.
President Margaret Venable, Dalton State College. Venable became president of Dalton State College in September 2015 after serving as interim president for nearly nine months. Prior to Dalton State, she served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Gordon State College. She has worked in the University System of Georgia 26 years. Venable is the first president of a Georgia institution to serve on the HACU Board.
HACU’s outgoing board members include William V. Flores, former president of the University of Houston, Downtown; James E. Brenneman, former president, Goshen College; Albert A. Cruz, Chair, HACU Alumni Association; and Robert G. Frank, former president, The University of New Mexico.
For a complete list of 2017-18 HACU’s Governing Board, click here.