As if Steiner Ranch residents didn’t have enough to celebrate, a recent Austin Biz Journals article announced that the University of Texas’ Department of Educational Administration Chair Walter G. Bumphus was recently selected to become the president and CEP of the American Association of Community Colleges’ board of directors. In his new position, Bumphus will be taking on the top leadership role of 1,200 community colleges that belong to the association.
Bumphus, who is a 38 year industry veteran, was selected after the association completed a six-month national search. Currently, Bumphus is an instructor within the university’s educational department’s Community College Leadership Program (CCLP). The CCLP is the oldest doctoral program available for community college leaders. In fact, after earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Murray State University, Bumphus himself earned a doctoral degree in educational administration through the program.
As might be expected, this isn’t the first time Bumpus has taken on a leadership position. In fact, he oversaw 40 campuses and 51,000 students while employed as the system president for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System for six years. In addition, he led a $5 million initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Labor as he worked toward developing construction trades centers in Louisiana after the area had been devastated by hurricane Katrina.
“Walter has been tested over and over as a leader, and he has consistently risen to every challenge,” said the current president of AACC, George R. Boggs. “He brings both intellect and experiences to the leadership of AACC, and he has a deep commitment to community colleges and the people they serve.”
In addition to taking on leadership positions within the educational community, Bumphus has also filled numerous leadership roles within the private sector that were related to education. For example, he served as the president for Voyater’s Expanded Learning and worked as a consultant for over 100 institutions throughout 26 different states as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico. Within this role, he assisted with designing student development programs, with developing technology in student services and designing instructional strategies to be used with high-risk students.
Reportedly, Bumphus is already making big plans in terms of molding the future of the community colleges that are involved with the association, particularly as community colleges respond to criticisms regarding their relatively low graduation rates.
“There has never been a brighter spotlight, and flashlight, on community colleges than today, but community colleges have never been better than they are today. We’re starting to become a community of colleges that are focused on a culture of evidence, truly looking at performance, and I am convinced that we are moving the needle in terms of student success,” said Bumphus. “Do we have more work to do? Absolutely yes. Some colleges have been stuck on ‘good.’ But we’re on a pathway to most colleges becoming truly, truly great institutions.”