Closing General Session and Excellence Awards Celebration Keynote
Wednesday, March 21, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
John Edward Roueche is President of the Roueche Graduate Center, National American University. Previously, he served as the Sid Richardson Regents Chair and as Professor and Director of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin from 1971-2012. Dr. Roueche is a graduate of Mitchell Community College (1958) and received his PhD in higher education administration from The Florida State University in 1964. He has served as a high school history and English teacher, community college dean of students and instructional dean, and faculty member at UCLA and Duke University.
Roueche has received extensive national recognition for his research, teaching, service, and overall leadership, including the 2016 Harry S. Truman Award from the American Association of Community Colleges, the highest award given by AACC; the 2012 Lifetime Leadership Achievement Award from the American Association of Community Colleges, the first such award ever given by AACC; the first-ever 2012 “Diverse Champion Award” from the publishers and editors of Diverse Issues in Higher Education for his lifetime support and contributions to increased diversity in American community colleges. He was also honored in 2012 by the American Association of Community Colleges Board of Directors, who named their national leadership initiative the John E. Roueche Future Leaders Institute. The Community College Association of Texas Trustees also named their Trustee Training Initiative in his honor in 2014. The League for Innovation in the Community College named their Distinguished Leadership Award the John E. Roueche and Terry O’Banion Leadership Award in 2013 honoring their lifetime leadership accomplishments. The League for Innovation also named their excellence award The John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Awards. He and Dr. Suanne Roueche received the 2011 O’Banion Prize for Leadership in Teaching and Learning from the Educational Testing Service. His other awards are too numerous to be cited individually but he has received the National Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges as well as the 1988 B. Lamar Johnson Leadership Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College. He has also received the University of Texas Distinguished Faculty Award, the University of Texas’ Teaching Excellence Award, and The University of Texas Career Research Excellence Award, the University’s top research prize. He has received more than a dozen national research awards.
Roueche has been honored with Distinguished Graduate Awards from The Florida State University, Appalachian State University, Lenoir-Rhyne University and Mitchell College. He is listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in American, Contemporary Authors, International Authors and Writers Who’s Who, Who’s Who in American Education, and Who’s Who in the South and Southwest.
Since 1970, John Roueche has spoken to more than 1300 colleges and universities on topics of teaching and leadership excellence. He is the author of 37 books and more than 175 articles and chapters focused on leadership, teaching, and learning. He has served as Principal Investigator for more than $40 million in projects funded by major American foundations during his years of service at the University of Texas.
His recent books include Rising to the Challenge: Lessons Learned from Guilford Tech Community College (2012), with Suanne Roueche, Martha Ellis, and Melinda Ellis Valdez; The Creative Community College (2008), with M. Melissa Richardson, Phillip W. Neal, and Suanne D. Roueche; The Entrepreneurial Community College (2005), with Barbara R. Jones; Practical Magic: On the Front Lines of Teaching Excellence (2003), with Mark D. Milliron and Suanne D. Roueche; In Pursuit of Excellence: The Community College of Denver (2001); High Stakes, High Performance; Making Remedial Education Work (1999); Embracing the Tiger: The Effectiveness Debate and the Community College(1997); Strangers in Their Own Land: Part-Time Faculty in American Community Colleges (1995); The Company We keep: Collaboration in the Community College (1995); and Between a Rock and A Hard Place: The At-Risk Student in the Open-Door College (1993), all with Suanne D. Roueche. Strangers in Their Own Land, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and Embracing the Tiger: The Effectiveness Debate & the Community College were selected by the National Public Broadcasting System for national PBS telecasts.
Roueche is married to Suanne Davis Roueche, past director of NISOD (University of Texas at Austin). Suanne is very active with the Assistance League of Austin and the Center for Survivors in Austin. John and Suanne have three children: Michelle, Professor & Director of Choral Music, Mary Hardin-Baylor University; Robin, an elementary art teacher in Austin; Jay, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer, Flowserve Corporation in Dallas; and two grandchildren, Jack and Caroline, who live with parents Elise and Jay in Dallas. The Roueches reside in Austin, Texas, with courageous canines, Annie and Olive.
