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Gregory Williams | President, Odessa College

Gregory Williams | President, Odessa College

Current Position and Past Experience
Gregory Williams is currently President of Odessa College. He began his connection with community colleges as a student at Odessa College (OC) in 1983. He has served as its President since January 2007, taking the college through a systematic transformation. Recently, the college implemented a $78 million campus infrastructure improvement project, a “30 for 30 Fitness Challenge” annual community-wide fitness program, and a “Drive to Success,” program in which OC partners with businesses to encourage student participation in success-driven activities. Under his leadership, the Odessa College team has broken institutional records in enrollment, student retention, and fundraising. In 2017 and 2019, the college received the Rising Star Award for Community College Excellence from the Aspen Institute.

Education, Honors and Achievements
Williams earned his doctorate in higher education administration from Baylor University and master’s degrees in education mid-management and psychology from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UTPB with a certification to teach psychology, history, and students who have learning disabilities

Personal Details and Community Involvement
Williams serves or has served on a number of local, state, and national boards including Chair-Elect of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Formula Funding Committee, Community College Advisory Group, P-16, and the Academic Achievement Distinction Committee, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Board of Directors and their Executive Board, Chair of AACC’s Committee on Community College Advancement and on the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community College’s Developmental Education Redesign Committee, Aspen Institute Change Management Task Force, and JFF Policy Leadership Trust for Student Success.

Connect
In January 2021, Dr. Williams started looking for opportunities to share words of support, opportunity and encouragement on Twitter in an effort to bring more positivity to ‘his corner’ of society and social media. He made a commitment a commitment to post something uplifting on twitter each day, over 250 day and counting.

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State of CE 2024