MVCC Trustee Mathis leads national organization of community college trustees

UTICA — Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) Trustee David Mathis was recently selected to lead the nation’s largest organization of community college trustees, the college announced.

Mathis on Oct. 2 was elected chair of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), which represents more than 6,500 trustees at over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges across the U.S., MVCC said in a news release. Mathis will chair a 26-member ACCT board of directors that consists of 15 directors elected regionally, nine directors-at-large elected by the senate, and two directors appointed by the chair.

As chair, Mathis will preside at all meetings of the ACCT senate, board of directors, and executive committee; be the official spokesperson of the board of directors; serve as the ACCT representative at American ACCT board meetings; interpret the governance process and board-president relationships policies; and appoint one member to the board, subject to board approval. 

Mathis has set a personal goal for his first year — to promote the new ACCT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Checklist and Interpretation Guide for Community College Boards.

“Community colleges are the greatest gateway of opportunity this nation has to offer,” said Mathis, a member of the MVCC board of trustees successively since 1977. In this capacity, he has acted as VP of the board from 2002 to 2004 and 2011 to 2013. He has been chair of the board of trustees three times, with terms held from 1983 to 1987, 2004 to 2006, and 2013 to 2015.

Mathis also is chair of the MVCC Dormitory Corporation board of directors and president of the MVCC Alumni Association board.