Dr. Robert Garza
Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — July 30, 2018
(DALLAS) — Dr. Robert Garza, president of Mountain View College — part of the Dallas County Community College District — has accepted the position of president at Palo Alto College in San Antonio; he will begin his tenure as the new CEO in September. Palo Alto is part of the Alamo College District.
Members of the board of trustees for the Alamo Colleges District approved the appointment on Tuesday, July 24. Palo Alto, one of five Alamo Colleges, enrolls more than 10,000 students located on San Antonio’s South Side.
Garza, who joined DCCCD and Mountain View in 2015, previously worked for Palo Alto as vice president of student success, dean of student success and dean of community development and partnerships.
Garza announced his departure to MVC employees on Wednesday, July 25, through a campuswide email.
He said, “Serving as MVC president has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my career. I am thankful for all of the collaborative efforts of the MVC family to assist our students in reaching their goals. I also appreciate the dedication of our faculty and staff who make Mountain View such a special place.”
Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor, said, “Dr. Garza has the unique opportunity to return to his home town and to serve as a leader in higher education, which is an outstanding accomplishment. He definitely leaves some big shoes to fill, and we are proud of him. We applaud him for the many contributions he made during the past three years.”
Among those accomplishments are:
- A record highest level of enrollment which occurred in fall 2017 and was repeated in spring 2018 when more than 10,300 credit students were enrolled;
- Launch of MVC’s Dreaming for Success Initiative;
- Development of a Bilingual Education Center that will address the bilingual teacher shortage (funded by a $2.7 million Title V grant);
- Implementation of community block walks to increase community support and awareness of Mountain View College;
- Expansion of the college’s nursing program;
- Launch of Business of the Month recognition; and
- Community-based activities.
Garza said, ”Time and time again, I have heard our students taking about how the MVC family makes a difference in their lives. Every day, you make a difference. I challenge each of you to continue living the MVC mission every day as you continue to embrace and uplift our students and community.”
May and Garza are working on a transition plan; the chancellor will visit with the Mountain View College family to discuss the next steps in that process.
During his time in Dallas, Garza also was involved in several community organizations, where he served as a member of the board of directors, including the Texas Can Academies, the Charlton Methodist Medical Center Advisory Board and the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce.
Garza earned his doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Texas at Austin; his master’s degree in public administration from UT-San Antonio; and his bachelor’s degree in agricultural development from Texas A&M University.
Garza succeeds Dr. Mike Flores, who will become the Alamo Colleges’ first Hispanic chancellor on Oct. 1.
# # #