Sinclair College Wins Exemplary CEO and Board Award from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)

Sinclair Community College President and CEO Steven Johnson and the Sinclair College Board of Trustees were honored with the Exemplary CEO and Board Award of Excellence by the American Association of Community Colleges on April 7, 2014. Sinclair is only the second college to be so honored and was selected via a competitive process open to over 1,000 community colleges. The award recognizes, "a community college whose Board of Trustees and CEO collaboration and working relationship are exemplary in promoting effectiveness in community college governance."

"Sinclair has been blessed to have some of the strongest leaders in the Dayton Region selflessly give their time and talent to serve as a member of the Sinclair College Board of Trustees," Sinclair College President and CEO Steven Johnson said. "It has been my honor to work daily with them on behalf of the outstanding students, faculty, and staff that make Sinclair a special place to learn and work."

"Sinclair is a great convener and partner across our community and the leadership provided by the Sinclair Board of Trustees and President Steve Johnson is evident in all that they do," Dayton Development Coalition President and CEO Jeff Hoagland said. "The AACC could not have picked a better choice and I appreciate all that Sinclair does for the economy of the Dayton Region. Congratulations to President Johnson, the Board of Trustees, and the students, faculty, and staff of Sinclair."

Sinclair's strong emphasis on leadership and governance is clearly reflected in many of the college's successes and governing processes:

• Sinclair's strong belief in access and affordability is reflected in the fact that its Montgomery County students pay the lowest tuition rates in the state of Ohio.
• The mission to maintain strong alignment with local business and industry is evident in the unprecedented investment of $1.4 million in the college's signature Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program made by the Sinclair Board of Trustees in 2013.
• Sinclair's emphasis on linking with school districts to provide opportunities for local high school students is reflected in its role as the lead college for the nationally-recognized Miami Valley Tech Prep Consortium. Tech Prep provides college credit and career pathways for over 7,000 local high school students.
• Finally, Sinclair's strong belief in effective stewardship of public monies can be seen in their routinely excellent scores on state measures of overall financial health and that the college spends 30-40% less per student on administrative overhead than other Ohio community colleges.

"Serving on the Sinclair Board of Trustees has been an honor and a privilege for me and my colleagues," said Sinclair Board of Trustees Chair Bernard Wright. "President Johnson and his team are focused everyday on the most critical issues facing our region and help drive the agenda for the entire community college industry. I'm proud to work with them and I look forward to many more years of successful partnership. Thank you very much to the American Association of Community Colleges for this outstanding honor."

One of the oldest and best known community colleges in the nation, Sinclair recently celebrated its 127th year and is a board member of the prestigious League for Innovation in the Community College.  The college serves nearly 40,000 unduplicated students each year, making Sinclair the third largest community college in Ohio and one of the largest colleges of any kind in Southwest Ohio. Sinclair offers over 170 accredited degree and certificate programs and has awarded more degree and certificates than any other community college in the state of Ohio over the last five years.  National leaders such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partner with Sinclair on critical projects such as the Completion by Design initiative which seeks to eliminate barriers to student completion.