SAN ANTONIO – Palo Alto College President Mike Flores was confirmed by the Alamo Colleges board of trustees as the incoming chancellor for the Alamo Colleges District on March 3.
Flores is making history as the first Hispanic chancellor for the Alamo Colleges District and as the first person to be elevated internally by the Alamo Colleges District.
"It was really an honor to be confirmed and selected as the incoming chancellor for the Alamo Colleges District," said Flores. "I'm really fortunate. I look forward to the opportunity to engage my colleagues, faculty, staff and students."
Flores said he is looking forward to the opportunity to serve the district's five colleges and more than 65,000 students every semester.
"We're really passionate about what we do, educating students," said Flores. "We're really passionate about who we serve, our metropolitan area so, I think as long as we keep that front of mind.. then any challenge can really be solved by engaging our stakeholders and partners."
Flores said one goal he has in mind is to continue access to college through their dual credit or early college high school programs.
The programs ensure students an associate degree when they graduate from high school.
Currently, the Alamo Colleges District has the largest program in the state.
"It's a very important agenda item and it's a very nuanced issue and it involves engaging our school district partners," said Flores. "It involves engaging elected officials and being able to figure out a solution to ensure that we can continue to move forward in educating high school students and providing college credit."
Flores will officially begin his new role on Oct. 1.
