Interim President

Dr. Dennis Topper

Dr. Dennis R. Topper, shown here with his Bichon Frise puppy, Daphne, assumed the duties of Interim President of Lee College on June 1, 2008.  He has worked at Lee College since December 1989, first as Director of Physical Plant, and from May 1990 until May 2008, as Dean of Administrative Services.

He oversees an annual budget of more than $37 million, which funds the operations of the 6th fastest growing community college in the nation.
In 2007, the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities Business Officers (SACUBO) named the Institutional Effectiveness program Dr. Topper developed for the Administrative Services Division a “best practice.”  

Dr. Topper served as the College’s representative for both the 1988 and 2000 bond construction programs.  Facilities completed under his direction included the Gray Science Building, Tucker Hall, the Advanced Technology Center/Library, and the Sports Complex Arena.  Successful major renovations he has overseen are the McNulty-Haddick Complex, the old gymnasium and the Student Center.  During the Spring of 2008, Dr. Topper served as the project representative for the I-10 Center, which is being constructed as a joint project between the College and the Harris County Community Service Department. Square footage at Lee College has expanded by 47% during his tenure. 

In 2000, then President Sasser named Dean Topper to be the Executive Sponsor and Training Administrator for the College’s PeopleSoft enterprise software implementation.  The implementation used an innovative rapid lab methodology and was successful.  

In 2007, Dr. Topper wrote the application that resulted in the College being named one of ten colleges and universities selected to participate in the Clinton Climate Initiative.  He is currently overseeing the College’s CCI project, which is expected to result in significant upgrades to the College’s facilities with resultant energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.  

Dr. Topper accumulated more than 10 years of teaching experience at the U.S. Air Force Academy and the University of Alaska. In July 1993, the Air Force Academy Department of Civil Engineering named him a Visiting Professor.

Dr. Topper's nonacademic experience includes various military assignments in the Air Force Civil Engineering career field immediately before coming to Lee College, culminating in a tour of duty as commander of the 3700 Civil Engineering Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio. In this assignment, he served as public works director of a base with a population of 70,000 persons. He supervised 700 persons in the maintenance, repair and fire protection of a $335 million physical plant and oversaw a $25 million annual budget.

Dr. Topper earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and his Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He earned his Doctor of Engineering degree from Texas A&M University and was named a distinguished graduate of that program.