The overview
Castillo will replace outgoing Chancellor Stephen Head, who announced his retirement in January, effective Aug. 1, Community Impact previously reported. Head has served as chancellor since 2014.
As such, the board of trustees began the search for a new chancellor in late March and formed the Chancellor Search Advisory Committee following the development of a chancellor profile with employee input, according to the release.
In early July, LSCS officials announced five chancellor candidates, which included the following in addition to Castillo:
- Joyce C. Ester, Normandale Community College president
- Lonnie L. Howard, former Lamar Institute of Technology president and CEO
- David Sam, Elgin Community College president and CEO
- Lee Ann Nutt, Lone Star College-Tomball president
Castillo will be the fifth LSCS chancellor if appointed, according to the release.
He has served as the LSCS chief operating officer and general counsel since 2017. He began as the college's general counsel in 2015, according to the release, and was promoted in 2016 to vice chancellor and general counsel. He also previously served as interim president of Lone Star College-Kingwood.
Quote of note
“This is a historic moment in the history of Lone Star College with the appointment of the first Hispanic chancellor demonstrating the Lone Star College board of trustees’ commitment to our culture of engagement and inclusiveness,” Board Chair Michael Stoma said in the release. “The process to select a new chancellor involved many hours of research and due diligence to ensure we selected the right finalist.”
Stay tuned
The board will hold a special meeting to appoint Castillo as chancellor a minimum of 21 days after being named the sole finalist, according to the release.
“I look forward to working with Mario Castillo to continue our mission of providing comprehensive educational opportunities and programs to enrich lives,” Stoma said.
