Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819; ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Dec. 4, 2014
(DALLAS) — During their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2, members of the Dallas County Community College District’s board of trustees approved a recommendation from Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor, to fill two new top-level administrative positions that will move the board’s goals and initiatives forward. Dr. Fernando Figueroa will serve as the vice chancellor of educational policy, and Mark Hays will serve as vice chancellor of workforce and economic development. Figueroa and Hays will begin their tenure no later than Feb. 1, 2015. Additionally, Dr. Pyeper Wilkins will serve as associate vice chancellor for advancement and executive director of the DCCCD Foundation, effective Dec. 3, 2014.
The national search was conducted for the district by the executive search firm of R.H. Perry and Associates.
Figueroa currently is provost and vice president of instruction at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hays is director of workforce and economic development for the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. Wilkins, who has worked for both DCCCD and Collin College, currently serves as associate vice president for planning, research and institutional effectiveness at El Centro College, located in downtown Dallas.
“We welcome Dr. Fernando Figueroa and Mark Hays to DCCCD. I know that they will play key roles as we move forward with the board’s new goals and initiatives,” said May. “Dr. Pyeper Wilkins brings more than 15 years of experience at community colleges in advancement and workforce development. All of our new executives have the skills and proven track records that we need to move the district forward as we continue to expand our efforts in education and workforce training.”
DCCCD Vice Chancellor for Educational Policy
Figueroa, DCCCD’s new vice chancellor for educational policy, will serves as the district’s chief academic officer and also will oversee the development and implementation of all academic and student affairs policies and strategic initiatives within the district, including those policies and strategies that are related to student success, academic quality and expanding access to nonconsumers of higher education.
Figueroa commented, “I am very excited to join the DCCCD team and to work with the chancellor on his vision for the district. These are turbulent times in higher education that require us to be innovative and even more responsive to the needs of our community. To join DCCCD at this time is an opportunity to create educational experiences for student and community success that will be the model for the rest of the nation.”
Before he became provost and vice president for instruction and student services at Del Mar, Figueroa was the college’s provost and vice president of instruction. He also served as dean of university studies at Tyler Junior College. Figueroa has taught at a number of community colleges and universities, including Morton College, River Parishes Community College, Baton Rouge Community College, the University of New Orleans, Loyola University and Louisiana State University. He is a frequent presenter and has published a number of articles as well. Figueroa earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University, his master’s degree in English from LSU and his doctorate in English, with a major field of concentration in medieval English literature, also from LSU.
DCCCD Vice Chancellor for Workforce and Economic Development
Hays, as DCCCD’s new vice chancellor for workforce and economic development, will provide leadership to the district by planning for and meeting Dallas County’s workforce and economic development needs. The new vice chancellor is the central point of contact for private or public entities that need information about or resources and solutions for workforce training and job development as well as business creation or expansion.
“I am thrilled about coming to DCCCD. It’s a great opportunity to work in one of — if not the most — dynamic economic regions in the country,” said Hays. “We want to look at how we can help individuals grow into the middle class and earn a living wage as well as how we can work with businesses to become more profitable so that they can pay that living wage to their employees. Those types of partnerships (with businesses) help increase prosperity for our students as well as our community.”
Hays’ previous experience includes resource development coordinator for area economic development with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce; systems operations administrator for the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development in Tulsa; financial analyst for the city of Tulsa in budget and planning; and adjunct instructor at Tulsa Community College. He is a member of the Workforce Oklahoma Employment and Training Association and the Governor’s Statewide Workforce Youth Council; was Marano Fellow for the Aspen Institute Sector Skills Academy; and was a 2005 examiner for the Oklahoma Quality Award Foundation. Hays earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma.
DCCCD Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement/Executive Director, DCCCD Foundation
Wilkins will serve as both the associate vice chancellor for advancement and the executive director for the DCCCD Foundation. In those positions, she will provide strategic leadership for the creation and execution of a development plan that supports the strategic initiatives of the district. Wilkins will work closely with DCCCD’s chancellor and members of the Foundation board as well as the presidents of the seven colleges in DCCCD’s system to achieve the outcomes established by the board of trustees.
She will be responsible for devising strategies to achieve outcomes in five key areas: planning, capacity building, donor development, direct fundraising and board development.
Wilkins said, “I look forward to the opportunity to work with our chancellor, Dr. May, the DCCCD board of trustees and the DCCCD Foundation’s board so that we can meet the needs of our students and our community.”
Wilkins has served as an administrator at El Centro College for more than eight years, where she previously was executive dean at the Bill J. Priest campus as well as working in the resource and community development department. She worked for Collin County Community College District for seven years as director of workforce and economic development; grant coordinator; and student development coordinator for CCCCD’s College Center at Rockwall. Wilkins taught at CCCCD as well as at Eastfield and Cedar Valley colleges in the DCCCD system. She has presented at a number of regional, state and national conferences and is involved in many professional and community organizations as well. Wilkins earned her bachelor’s degree in business education from West Texas State University; her master’s degree in human relations and business from Amberton University; and expects to receive her doctorate in educational leadership and management from Capella University in December 2014.
For more information, contact Ann Hatch in the DCCCD office of public and governmental affairs by phone at (214) 378-1819 or by email at ahatch@dcccd.edu.
# # #