Lee Ann Nutt, Ed.D. Chancellor Candidate Forum Date: Monday, July 17 @ 1:00PM Campus Visit and In-Person Open Forum Schedules Open Forum Feedback Survey Chancellor Candidate Forum

Bio

For the past 24 years, Dr. Lee Ann Nutt has served in increasingly responsible leadership positions in two Texas community colleges. Currently, Dr. Nutt is president of Lone Star College-Tomball, a position she began in February 2015 after previously serving as the college’s Vice President of Instruction. Prior to joining Lone Star College, Dr. Nutt served in three administrative positions over 12 years at North Central Texas College-Dean of Continuing Education, Provost, and Vice President of Instruction. In every position she holds, Dr. Nutt brings a unique combination of financial, strategic, and operational acumen combined with the ability to connect with people through her authenticity, inclusive approach to leadership, and her strong interpersonal skills.

Dr. Nutt, a recipient of the Phi Theta Kappa Shirley B. Gordon Award in 2021, is deeply committed to providing all students with opportunities to improve their lives. In addition to ensuring access to high-quality academic and workforce programs, excellent facilities, and supportive campus culture, as president, Dr. Nutt initiates programs to ensure equitable student outcomes. Most recently, Student Voice will be the Loudest was a year-long initiative to listen directly to and engage with a diverse representation of students. The findings from one-on-one personal interviews conducted by faculty and staff, campus forums featuring students, and President Pop-Up office hours will be used to establish campus priorities for the coming year. Early in her presidency, Dr. Nutt introduced and institutionalized the Global Grit Experience (GGE) to infuse resilience and growth mindset behaviors into the culture of the college and throughout the curriculum. The college’s ongoing commitment to GGE, which includes an annual Grit Summit, is based on the compelling results of rigorous research conducted in partnership with Pearson and New York Times Bestselling author, Dr. Paul G. Stoltz, which indicated a significant relationship between high-quality GRIT (growth mindset, resilience, instinct, and tenacity) and student success. Further, Dr. Nutt led the creation of lifePATH®,an innovativefour-year degree for neurodiverse students. Transferable academic, workforce, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills that apply to any industry are taught throughout the curriculum. In year four, students complete a community-based internship matched to their interests, skills, and abilities. In the 86th Legislative Session, the State of Texas passed HB 3165 which created the Occupational Life Skills Associate (OLSA) degree for lifePATH students at Lone Star College.

Dr. Nutt authored Complete the Agenda in Higher Education: Challenge Beliefs About Student Success, released by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers in January 2019. Acknowledging the lack of dramatic improvement in completion rates despite the national Completion Agenda, Dr. Nutt describes how extraordinary colleges are attuned to the paralyzing beliefs some students hold about themselves. Dr. Nutt states this book is for “community college board members, administrators, faculty, and staff who also want to: (1) foster beliefs that will enable students to finish what they start; (2) empower students to overcome daily challenges and real adversity; and (3) transform human potential into achievement, for a lifetime.”

Recognizing the importance of community engagement, Dr. Nutt intentionally gets involved, partners with local entities, and volunteers. For example, in partnership with Tomball Independent School District, she helped create Tomball Star Academy (TSA), an early college high school that opened in Fall 2017. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for HCA Healthcare Houston – Tomball, the local hospital. In the past, she served as a Board member of the Greater Tomball Chamber of Commerce (GTACC) Board of Directors. In February 2022, she was selected as the GTACC Citizen of the Year.

Dr. Nutt believes in developing future community college leaders. From 2015-2017, she served on the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Special Commission on Leadership and Professional Development. Since 2016, she has been teaching two courses for the Ferris State University Doctorate in Community College Leadership program, Quantitative Research Methods and Creating a Culture of Student Success. She has also chaired or served on multiple dissertation committees. A native Texan, Dr. Nutt earned a Doctor of Education and a Master of Education degree in Higher Education Administration with a focus on community college leadership from Texas Tech University in 1996 and 1992, respectively. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Tech University, which was awarded in 1989.