Chancellor Candidate Biographies
Dr. Gregory W. Gray
Dr. Gregory W. Gray joined the Miami Dade College family in 2006 after serving eight successful years as chancellor of the Fayette Campus of Penn State University. Prior to Penn State, Dr. Gray served as dean for the School of Business, Hospitality, and Nursing at the SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology in Morrisville, NY; chief academic officer at the University of Cincinnati's Clermont College; and vice president for Academic Affairs at Olive-Harvey College of the City Colleges of Chicago. He has developed new academic programs at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels and has been a national speaker on several topics including student success and faculty compensation. Dr. Gray has increased enrollment at each of the institutions he has led, and the Kendall Campus enrollment has grown 15% during his tenure and now exceeds 37,000 students. He has also developed several important partnerships between the academic institution and business sector. One notable example is the partnership created at Penn State, which resulted in the Fayette Campus being designated as the Distributed Engineering Center for the development of the U.S. Navy's new weapon—the anti-torpedo, torpedo. This effort resulted in dozens of technology companies relocating to the SW PA area and was made possible thanks to the support of Congressman John Murtha. Dr. Gray works closely with local, state, and national representatives and was privileged to host former President George Bush as the Kendall commencement speaker in May, 2007.
Dr. Gray lead the Penn State Fayette capital campaign which resulted in $22 million for the campus. These efforts brought about new buildings, created new academic programs, and funded endowed teaching chairs and student scholarships. At Kendall, Dr. Gray has established the Center for Service Excellence which is a direct response to the identified community need to improve customer service. In the academic arena, he has initiated the Visiting Professor Program (Jon Secada in Music) and the Artist-in-Residence Program at MDC.
Dr. Gray holds a bachelor in science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in Education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a doctorate in Education from Penn State University. He and his wife reside in Weston, Florida and they have two grown children and three grandchildren who live in Orchard Park, NY.
Biography supplied by candidate.
Dr. Charles A. Taylor
Dr. Charles A. Taylor is the former president of Thomas Nelson Community College. He assumed his post on July 1, 2004. He holds a doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision from Loyola University of Chicago, an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Old Dominion University, a master of science degree in Education from The Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Prior to taking the position of president, he served as senior vice chancellor for Administration and Finance/chief operating officer at Peralta Community College District in Oakland, California. Dr. Taylor was with the Peralta Community College District in Oakland for two years, and prior to that he served as chancellor and chief executive officer for the Community Colleges of Spokane, Washington. He also served as president of St. Philip's College in San Antonio, Texas, and he was vice president for student affairs at Kellogg Community College in Michigan. He has held administrative appointments in Illinois and Maryland.
In addition to his extensive administrative experience, Dr. Taylor taught in the Department of Counseling, Psychology, and Higher Education at Loyola University of Chicago, and he also held the rank of assistant professor at Chicago State University.
Dr. Taylor served on various community and civic organizations, such as the chamber of commerce, economic development councils, workforce development organizations, Rotary, and foundations. Since serving as president at TNCC, Dr. Taylor has continued his community involvement by serving on a number of boards such as Hampton Roads Partnership, York County Economic Development Authority, Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Greater Peninsula Workforce Investment Board, Virginia Tidewater Consortium, and Greater Peninsula NOW, to name a few. Dr. Taylor also serves on a number of national boards such as the American Association of Community Colleges and American Council on Education Commission on Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity. Dr. Taylor has a number of publications and national awards.
Dr. Taylor is married to Dr. Scheherazade Taylor, who has a doctorate in Health Systems and Nursing Administration from the University of Michigan, and they have four children.
Biography supplied by candidate.
Dr. Wayne D. Watson
Wayne D. Watson, Ph.D., was appointed chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago in 1998, and immediately began instituting the changes he saw as needed to achieve the excellence in education he so passionately wanted to bring to Chicago's community college system and accomplished this by raising the academic standards. Prior to his appointment, he served as president of Kennedy-King College and Harold Washington College.
"As City Colleges approaches its 100th anniversary, I am determined that its programs reflect the reality of the new world order of globalization. When CCC was founded in 1911, City Colleges was known as the 'People's College' with the mission to provide access to higher education. Our reason for being then and our reason for being now has not changed. We exist to provide quality education, accessible to all. As an educator, that is my reason for being - mi razon de ser."
As chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, Dr. Watson has been profiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education as an Agent of Change. He was most recently instrumental in reaching an unprecedented agreement with the City Colleges' faculty union Local 1600 utilizing interest-based negotiation, putting students first. Dr. Watson personally handled the negotiations of this collective bargaining agreement. By eliminating intermediaries in the process and working directly with union leadership, this negotiation set a new paradigm in education nationwide. The chancellor has established an open and productive communication link between the faculty union and administration.
Dr. Watson's professional dedication to excellence in education aligns with his strong commitment to community service. He currently serves on the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, the Capital Campaign Leadership Committee for the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, the Chicago Botanic Garden, board chair of the School of Education & Social Policy at Northwestern University, and as a volunteer to the Capital Campaign for the DuSable Museum of African American History. Dr. Watson recently served four years (2003-2007) on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University.
Excellence is the common thread running through all aspects of his life. He is a devoted son and father of three. As a young man, he excelled in wrestling - making the final U.S. Olympic trials and winning a National Junior College Championship. His interests have led him to travel extensively to Europe and Africa to study anthropology, oral traditions, and comparative education.
He takes great pride in having worked as a senior consultant to Alex Haley. In this position, he reviewed and validated the research methodology Haley went on to use in writing his international best seller, Roots.
Dr. Watson's higher education started at Joliet Junior College. From there he went on to Northwestern University where he earned a bachelor of science, a master of arts in Teaching, and a doctor of philosophy in Education Administration.
Biography supplied by candidate.