Howard Community College Announces Senior Leadership Transition
It is with a mix of pride and bittersweet emotion that I announce the departure of our esteemed Provost and Executive Vice President, Dr. Shantay Grays. Her last day here at the college will be Oct. 17, and she will leave to begin a new chapter as the Vice Chancellor of Student Success at Central Texas College.
While we will miss her deeply, we celebrate this tremendous achievement and the well-deserved opportunity to expand her impact. Since joining HCC in 2023, Dr. Grays has championed our mission of meeting students where they dream, leading our key initiatives in the expansion of HCC Forward, and our acceptance into the Achieving the Dream national network. She was a central figure in the recent completion of our historic, inaugural collective bargaining agreement with full-time faculty, and successfully launched our Accelerated Pathways seven-week course modules.
Our enrollment is growing, student success and resources are thriving parts of our institutional identity, and we are building new programs in key industrial areas benefiting Howard County and beyond. In innovation, thoughtfulness, civility, and expertise, Dr. Grays is leaving a lasting imprint upon Dragon Country.
To ensure a smooth transition, I am pleased to announce two interim appointments. Dr. Jonathan Iuzzini has agreed to serve as interim provost and executive vice president. Dr. Iuzzini joined HCC in April 2024 as Associate Vice President of Faculty Development and Learning Innovation. He has 25 years of higher education experience, including serving as a full-time and part-time faculty member in psychology, an administrator in faculty development, and as the inaugural Director of Teaching and Learning at Achieving the Dream.
Currently, his contributions to the field include serving on the editorial board of Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning and as president-elect of the Professional & Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education.
I am also pleased to announce Prof. Sylvia Lee as the interim Associate Vice President of Teaching & Learning. Lee currently serves as the Dean of Foundational Learning, where she works alongside faculty, staff, and students to advance knowledge in English, Communication Studies, Mathematics, Economics, and Accounting. Previously, she was a full-time faculty member, earning the rank of Professor of English. She was also the co-chair of English from 2013 until 2023, was named Inspiring Faculty of the Year in 2020, and has served in various leadership capacities, including as Faculty Forum Constituency Committee president and accreditation self-study co-chair.
She earned her M.F.A in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, co-hosts the Bookish: A casual book club podcast, has served as a board member for the Howard County Poetry and Literary Society (HoCoPoLitSo), and serves as a peer evaluator for the Middle States Higher Education Commission.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Iuzzini and Prof. Lee on their new roles and supporting them as they transition, and in thanking Dr. Grays for her outstanding service to our students and community.