Alamo Colleges District Chancellor Mike Flores has been named a 2023 recipient of the Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence in the education sector.

According to a Jan. 17 news release, the Baldrige Foundation’s Leadership Awards recognize outstanding individuals, leaders and supporters who embody Baldrige leadership and management values and principles and who have provided outstanding service to the Baldrige community and beyond.

Flores said in a statement that he is honored to receive the Baldrige Foundation Award on behalf of the Alamo Colleges District.

“This award not only recognizes our districtwide commitment to be best in class, but recognizes our district’s collective effort to empower our diverse communities for success,” Flores said.

Since 1988, the Baldrige Foundation has been the private partner to the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, whose mission is to ensure the long-term financial viability of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and to support organizational performance excellence throughout the United States and the world, the release said.

In 2018, ACD was the first community college system in the nation to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership, the release said.

Al Faber, president and CEO of the foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, said his foundation helps thousands of organizations nationwide and worldwide, in all sectors of the economy, to pursue performance excellence that, in turn, makes a positive difference in people’s lives.

“The Foundation Awards for Leadership Excellence were established to recognize leaders, who provide exceptional support to Baldrige and the Foundation’s mission, helping to sustain Baldrige into the future, and promoting the positive impact of Baldrige on organizational and community success,” Faber said in a statement.

Flores assumed the role of ACD chancellor on Oct. 1, 2018, and has more than 20 years of service in the district.

Flores possesses the distinction of being the ninth appointed chancellor and the first Hispanic chancellor in the district’s history.

The foundation’s leadership awards will be presented during the foundation’s awards luncheon held as part of the annual Quest for Excellence conference near Washington, D.C., on April 4.