At the 2021 Association of Community College Trustees’ (ACCT) National Congress in October, Mohawk Valley Community College Trustees David Mathis ’70 and Tony Colón were appointed to the ACCT Board of Directors, the first time two trustees from the same college have served on the national board at the same time. Mathis will chair the Board Executive Committee and Colón will serve as chair and Northeast Region representative of the ACCT Board’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which provides leadership for the involvement of historically underrepresented diverse populations within the governance activities of the board.
Aside from his new responsibilities, Mathis most recently served as the ACCT Board Chair, 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. He has served as an MVCC Trustee successively since 1977 and has acted as vice president of the Board and chair for two and three terms, respectively. 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. Carucci Legacy Award, and the Anne M. Bushnell Memorial Award for Special Achievement. He also was named an Oneida County Historical Society Living Legend.
Colón, chair of MVCC’s Board of Trustees, is serving his 13th year on the MVCC Board of Trustees since his Oneida County appointment in 2008. He previously served as vice chair from 2018 to Sept. 30, 2020.
Colón also holds leadership positions within the New York State Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). He was the 2015 winner of the New York Community College Trustees Marvin A. Rapp Award for distinguished trustee service.
He worked 10 years for California-based Mitchell International as a senior account executive and director of Latin American sales and marketing. Since 1999, Colón has provided bilingual services to a variety of entities including the federal and New York court systems and others. He also is contracted to provide family support services through the Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN).
In addition to his local, New York, and national service as a Trustee, Colón has a long history of community service. He serves on the Oneida County Vision 2020 initiative; the City of Utica’s Planning Board and Access and Inclusion Committee; and the City’s Police Reform Advisory Committee. He also is co-founder of the Mohawk Valley Latino Association, Inc., and is a member of the Boy Scouts of America Area 3 Board and South Gate Ministries and Church.