Dr. Roy Vargas has been named a 2017 Hispanic Leadership Program Fellow by the National Community College Hispanic Council. Vargas, dean of academic affairs for the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses, was among 22 Hispanic community college administrators chosen from around the country.
The prestigious program is hosted by the University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences and is designed to develop a pool of highly qualified Hispanics whose career interest focuses on assuming increasingly responsible administrative positions, with the ultimate goal of becoming a community college president.
Early last year, Vargas joined the Belle Glade campus as dean of educational services before transitioning to his current role. Prior to that, he served as interim dean of the Schools of Business and Media & Creative Arts at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Before his role as interim dean, he was associate dean of the School of Business and a business/supervisory management instructor. He also has served as a lecturer and adjunct business professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and as a chemistry professor at two universities in his native Costa Rica.
According to NCCHC President Maria Harper-Marinick, a demographic shift is occurring in the United States, and is a reason why the organization is preparing new leaders who can model the way for the growing Hispanic population community colleges serve.
Components of the Leadership Fellows Program include two residential training seminars where each fellow prepares an individualized professional development plan and engages in a mentoring relationship with a Hispanic community college leader. They must also attend the NCCHC Leadership Symposium Sept. 21-23 in Miami and carry out online activities in between sessions.
