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Dr. Bruce Leslie, Navy veteran and Chancellor Emeritus of The Alamo Colleges District, retired October 1, 2018, concluding a 42-year career as a senior executive of community college systems. As Chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District, he led five individually accredited colleges of various sizes, 5 regional centers, a $1 billion budget, 6,000 employees and a student enrollment of over 65,000 credit and another 25,000 continuing education/distance learning and workforce students each semester. As a result of his leadership, the Alamo Colleges District has received numerous state and national awards, most noteworthy the 2018 National Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award for Performance Excellence; the only higher education system to ever receive this Presidential level national award. Concurrently, The Aspen Institute named Alamo Colleges-Palo Alto College among the top ten community colleges in the nation with the Rising Star Award and NICHE recognized Alamo Colleges-Northwest Vista College as best in Texas, 6th in the nation. The District also received several Texas Star Awards; a record four National Bellwether Awards, several sustainability and state and national operational and fiscal performance awards, including four Texas Awards for Performance Excellence and recognition as a National Achieving the Dream Leader College. As a further result of Leslie’s leadership, the Alamo Colleges District was awarded the 2020 Leah Meyer Austin Award, Achieving the Dream’s highest honor.

Dr. Leslie has served community colleges of all sizes becoming President of Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, NY in 1984. In 1996, he became Chancellor of the Connecticut Community-Technical College System leading twelve individually accredited colleges and then Chancellor of Houston Community College System leading six colleges (the sixth established during his administration) and passing the first General Obligation bond in the district’s history.

Leslie became Chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District in 2006, establishing and achieving accreditation of a fifth college, Northeast Lakeview College, established 16 early college high schools and several innovative technology academies, increased graduation rates by 244 per cent, achieving the highest degree rate in Texas, while also reducing costs, and generating greater revenues. As a result, the Alamo Colleges received the 2018 Malcolm Baldrige Award for Performance Excellence.