Lee College President

Dr. Lynda Villanueva

Dr. Lynda Vil­la­nueva, Lee Coll­ege's 10th presi­dent, is the third fe­male and the first His­panic to serve in the col­lege's 89-year his­tory. Dr. Vil­la­nueva be­lieves that a strong campus cul­ture is built around valu­ing every­one's indivi­dual contri­bu­tions and caring for their well-being, and she strives to model this be­lief in all of her roles on cam­pus and in the com­munity. As a leader, Dr. Vil­lan­ueva builds high-per­form­ing teams based upon trust and trans­paren­cy and driven by data and core values. Her pri­mary core value is suc­cess for all stu­dents regard­less of their back­ground.

Under Villa­nue­va's leader­ship, Lee Col­lege is innovat­ing to meet the evolv­ing needs of its stu­dents and com­munity. The col­lege imple­mented the First Time Free at Lee Pro­gram as the cor­ner­stone of a post-pan­demic re­covery plan, which resulted in the highest recorded enrollment in the College's history. Lee College also received a $5 million dollar gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and established the Student Resource and Advocacy Center to address unmet basic needs. Under her leadership, Lee College was chosen to be a member of the Achieving the Dream Racial Equity Leadership Academy resulting in the creation of the College's first Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the establishment of the DEI Community of Practice, a professional development program for faculty and staff to unpack their identities and educational journeys and learn how our experiences can help create the ideal Lee College student experience.

Dr. Villanueva is an alumnus of the inaugural Aspen Presidential Fellowship Program, a member of the Achieving the Dream Community College Women Succeed Advisory Group and the Student-Parent Families at the Center Leadership Council. She holds numerous board positions including the United Way of Greater Baytown Area & Chambers County, the Baytown Chamber of Commerce, the Houston Port Economic Alliance, Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital, the Baytown-West Chambers County Economic Development Foundation, and the Baytown Rotary Club.

Dr. Villanueva holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Colorado State University, a Master of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Houston, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Houston.