Rebuilding America’s Middle Class (RAMC), a coalition of community colleges, has chosen Louisiana Community & Technical College System (LCTCS) President Monty Sullivan as the organization’s new president. In this voluntary role, Dr. Sullivan will shape the coalition’s strategy to advocate for federal education policies that better meet the needs of community college students.

“Now more than ever, community colleges have an integral role to play in reshaping and rebuilding our nation’s economy,” said Dr. Sullivan, who has served on the RAMC board since 2014, when he became LCTCS president. “We need to do everything we can to ensure our students have the best opportunity possible to gain meaningful skills and credentials that lead to good-paying jobs in high-demand careers. This will be my guiding mission as president of RAMC, and I’m excited and honored to work alongside my colleagues from high-performing community colleges around the country to advocate for the needs of today’s community college students.”

Prior to his appointment as president of LCTCS, Sullivan most recently served as the Chancellor of Delgado Community College in New Orleans. Past roles include Executive Vice President at LCTCS, Interim President of Eastern Shore Community College, Vice Chancellor of Academics and Research at Virginia Community College, and Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs at Louisiana Delta Community College. Dr. Sullivan also worked at Louisiana Tech University as Director of the Center for Rural Development, as Director of Continuing Education at Louisiana State University Eunice, and as Coordinator of the Mobile Automated Learning Lab at Grambling State University.

Dr. Sullivan succeeds Dr. Joe May, Chancellor of Dallas College, who has served as president of RAMC since 2011. Dr. May announced his retirement from Dallas College earlier this year. The RAMC Board also selected Dr. Justin Lonon, incoming Chancellor of Dallas College, to serve as secretary and Dr. Ellen Davenport, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Virginia Community College System, to serve as the organization’s treasurer.

Dr. May applauded the RAMC Board for choosing Dr. Sullivan to lead the coalition’s work, stating, “Put simply, Monty is one of the nation’s most upstanding and outstanding community college leaders. He’s been a steadfast ally for our institutions and a relentless proponent for strengthening the connection between education and meaningful work. He’ll be a force for good and a driver for change at a time when that is most needed.”

Dr. Sullivan said, “Dr. Joe May has been a tremendous president of RAMC and worked diligently to elevate the importance of America’s community colleges. These are big shoes to fill, and I’m grateful for the chance to build upon Joe’s great progress as we continue our efforts to expand access to affordable, quality postsecondary opportunities for all Americans.”