A nationally recognized leader in the engineering and manufacturing industry, Dr. Cesar Maldonado transitioned to a leadership role in higher education in 2008. Today he serves as the 8^th Chancellor of the 50-year old Houston Community College District (HCC), leading a system that stretches over nearly 700 square miles in the nation’s fourth largest city, and serves over 100,000 students per year across 20 locations.

As Chancellor, Dr. Maldonado has focused on unifying the system, leveraging the strengths of individual campuses, and tapping into the needs of students. He has overseen the establishment of 13 Centers of Excellence in technical education, managed the building of new campuses, and created partnerships with numerous four-year universities and private industries. Dr. Maldonado’s leadership led to his being named a finalist as the 2017 nonprofit CEO of the year by the Houston Business Journal’s C-Suite Awards Committee.

To guide the institution for years to come, Dr. Maldonado established Embracing Houston’s Future, a bold vision for the college and the Greater Houston region through its six strategic priorities: student success, diversity and equity, personalized learning, academic rigor, community investment, and college of choice. The strategic plan underpins the college’s innovation and progress for the coming years, and set the stage for Houston Community College’s historic 50^th anniversary celebration of its positive impact on students’ lives and the region’s economy.

Additionally, Dr. Maldonado led the institution through the COVID-19 global pandemic, quickly pivoting operations to provide students ongoing remote instruction and collaborating with community leaders to provide much needed resources to the community at large. These efforts led to the institution’s acceptance of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s STAR Award in 2021, recognizing Houston Community College for its extraordinary efforts to promote higher education during the pandemic.

Dr. Maldonado is a member of the Texas Education Agency Accountability Policy Advisory Committee and the Texas Association of Community Colleges Executive Committee. Dr. Maldonado also serves on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation Board, the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) Board of Directors, Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) Bord of Directors, the GHP Education Advisory Committee, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Community and Technical Colleges Formula Committee (CTCFAC).

Dr. Maldonado holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University, a Doctorate in Systems and Engineering Management from Texas Tech University, and is an alumnus of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

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