Longtime Mohawk Valley Community College Trustee member David Mathis ’70 was elected to chair the Association of Community College Trustees on Oct. 2, and was announced as such at the 2020 ACCT Leadership Congress on Oct. 8.

The ACCT is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. Located in Washington, D.C., the ACCT is a major voice of community college trustees in the nation. Mathis will chair a 26-member ACCT Board of Directors consists of 15 directors elected regionally, nine directors-at-large elected by the senate, two directors appointed by the chair.

As chair, Mathis will preside at all meetings of the ACCT Senate, Board of Directors, and Executive Committee; be the official spokesperson of the Board of Directors; serve as the ACCT representative at American ACCT Board meetings; interpret the Governance Process and Board President Relationships policies; and appoint one member to the Board, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. Mathis also has a personal goal for his first year—to promote the new ACCT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Checklist and Interpretation Guide for Community College Boards.

“Community colleges are the greatest gateway of opportunity this nation has to offer,” said Mathis, a member of the MVCC Board of Trustees successively since 1977. In this capacity, he has acted as vice president of the Board from 2002 to 2004 and 2011 to 2013, and has been chair of the Board of Trustees three times, with terms held from 1983 to 1987, 2004 to 2006, and 2013 to 2015.

Mathis also is the Chair of the MVCC Dormitory Corporation Board of Directors and the president of the MVCC Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Incredibly active in the community, Mathis sits on a variety of boards for organizations including the Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency; Stanley Center for the Arts; New York State Workforce Investment Board; The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter; New York Community College Trustees; Insight House; Association of Community College Trustees; and the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES School & Business Alliance Program.

Mathis has received many awards for his community involvement. Among them are the United Way “Hero Award,” Oneida County NAACP Achievement Award, Utica College Outstanding Alumnus Award, Mohawk Valley Community College Alumni of Merit Award, New York State Governor’s African Americans of Distinction Award, American Red Cross-President’s Fund Award for Cultural Diversity, Association of Community College Trustees Northeast Leadership Award, the M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award, the Joseph R. Curucci Legacy Award, and the Anne M. Bushnell Memorial Award for Special Achievement. He also was named an Oneida County Historical Society Living Legend.