A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Flores

Dr. Harrison Keller, Commissioner of Higher Education, is a sixth-generation Texan with nearly twenty-five years of experience in state budget and policy, university administration, fundraising, and building coalitions among higher education institutions, school districts, and policymakers.

Dr. Keller recently took part in a special edition of A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores to speak about collaborative efforts to expand the Texas talent pipeline and the significance of House Bill 8—a $683 million investment in community colleges aimed at rewarding schools for aiding students in completing their degrees or certificates.

Some key concepts covered during this episode include:

• How the Building a Talent Strong Texas Plan aims to award valuable credentials to Texans

• The impact of House Bill 8 

• Future Focus on Collaboration and Workforce

In July 2023, Dr. Amy Bosley – an innovative higher education administrator with extensive teaching experience and advanced communication, human resources, and business expertise – began her position as the third president of Northwest Vista College (NVC), a vibrant community of more than 17,000 students and 900 employees.

Dr. Bosley has an extensive track record in higher education and has served in various capacities, including Vice President for Institutional Planning Development and Chief of Staff at Valencia College in Central Florida. She is passionate about the community college mission and the impact that college leaders, faculty, and staff have on students, their families, the workforce, and their community.

Dr. Bosley and NVC student, Daniel Bigler, recently took part in A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores for a conversation on their experiences at NVC and what’s ahead.

Some key concepts covered during this episode include:

• What attracted Dr. Bosley and Daniel to NVC

• NVC’s Excelencia in Education framework

• Looking at what’s ahead as NVC approaches its 30th anniversary

Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús joined the San Antonio College (SAC) family in January 2023 as the second female president in the school’s near century-long history. She has a distinguished record of service both in higher education and public diplomacy within the foreign service. Before coming to SAC, she served as executive vice president of student success at Milwaukee Area Technical College and as the public diplomacy officer for the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, dedicating her time to impacting the lives of students from the U.S. and abroad by creating connections and platforms for student success and faculty-led research.

“Dr. Naydeen” – as she is known around campus – is the 13th president at SAC, among the largest single-campus community colleges in Texas and the nation, and serves nearly 20,000 students each semester.

In 2021, SAC received the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America's community colleges.

Dr. Naydeen and SAC student and student government leader, Desteny Espinoza, recently took part in A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores for a conversation on their experiences at SAC and what’s ahead.

Some key concepts covered during this episode include:

• What attracted Dr. Naydeen and Desteny to SAC

• How SAC is addressing economic and social mobility

• Looking at what’s ahead for SAC

In November 2022, the Alamo Colleges and University at Texas at San Antonio announced an expanded transfer agreement that, for the first time, allows eligible students to start at any of the five Alamo Colleges and then transfer to UTSA to complete a four-year degree while having educational costs covered at both institutions.

Dr. Taylor Eighmy, UTSA President, and San Antonio College graduate and current UTSA Student, Nia Houston, recently took part in A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores for a conversation on how ACD and UTSA are creating seamless pathways to student success.

Nia Houston is among the first group of students in the Promise-to-Promise program, which is being piloted this fall and will be available broadly to eligible students admitted to UTSA for Fall 2023.

Some key concepts covered during this episode include:

• How Promise-to-Promise came to be
• How Alamo Colleges & UTSA are working together on other transferability initiatives
• How Promise-to-Promise is making an impact on Nia’s college journey