President's Biography
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Adena Williams Loston serves as the 14th President of St. Philip's College our nation’s only Historically Black College and Hispanic Serving Institution. She assumed the reigns on March 1, 2007 on the occasion of St. Philip’s109th anniversary. She previously served as the Director of Education and Special Assistant for Suborbital and Special Orbital Projects Directorate for the Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility and Chief Education Officer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at it Headquarters in Washington, DC. Her initial appointment at NASA was as the Associate Administrator for Education on October 28, 2002 and prior to joining the Agency she served as the NASA Administrator’s Senior Education Advisor in September 2002. As the senior education official, she was responsible for structuring the Office of Education, providing executive leadership, policy direction, functional management, and guidance in coordinating the Agency’s overall efforts to organize and enhance its education investments and portfolio nationally and internationally for its Headquarter operations, mission directorates and 10 field centers. Dr. Loston was responsible for a $230 Million budget (including earmarks) and directed policy for $1.3 Billion.
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Before joining NASA, she served as president of San Jacinto College South in Houston, Texas for five years. Dr. Loston was the second president of the college and the first African-American president in the District. During her leadership the college increased in enrollment by 42%.
She possesses more than thirty-five years of higher education experience. She has served as the Campus CEO for both the Transmountain and Valle Verde campuses in the El Paso County Community College District; Dean of Professional Programs and Dean of Vocational Education, Budgets, and Facilities at Santa Monica College in California; and Supervisor of the Office Occupations Programs at Houston Community College. She has taught as an associate professor at Georgia State University and an instructor at Arkansas State University and Houston Community College. She also taught as an adjunct instructor at the University of Houston-Downtown and Texas Southern University.
EDUCATION
She is the product of a historically black college, Alcorn State University, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1973. Dr. Loston received her Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Bowling Green State University in 1974 and 1979 respectively. She also attended the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University in 1996; the Oxford Roundtable at Oxford University in 2001; and the Wharton School of Business in 2005.
AWARDS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS
She is active in numerous professional organizations and associations and has received numerous awards during her career. In March 2009, Dr. Loston was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame for Higher Education. In May 2008, Dr. Loston was inducted into the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa Inc., Educator’s Hall of Fame whose goals include furnishing tutoring, mentoring, and scholarships for students who seek education as a career. For more than thirty-seven years Dr. Loston has been a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In the January 2008 issue “Women A Celebration” Dr. Loston was listed as one of the Women who Influence & Help Shape Events in the San Antonio Area. Her recognitions include: the 2008 W.E. B. DuBois Higher Education Award; the Leadership Award from the Higher Education Commission of The National Alliance of Black School Educators in November 2008; the Purple & Gold Leadership Award, Omega Psi Phi Faternity, Inc. in November 2008; the 2008 La Prensa Foundation Outstanding Women in Action Education Award; the 2007 Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Exceptional Achievement Award and the NASA Headquarters’ 2005 Exceptional Achievement Award. Additionally, she has received the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Group Achievement Awards for the Educator Astronaut Program, the NASA Explorer School Program, and the Centennial of Flight Team all in April 2005; recognition for Women Inspiring Hope and Possibility March 2004; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Outstanding Leadership Medal, July 2003.
Other awards and recognitions include an Honorary Doctor of Science from Wiley College, May 2005; the NAACP Daisy Bates Education Advocacy Award, May 2005; the Accomplished Graduate Award from Bowling Green State University, April 2004; the Strong-Turner Alumni Chapter and Arkansas State University Award for Outstanding Leadership, February 2004; the Education Technology Think Tank (ET3) Tec Champion Award, September 2003; the Distinguished Alumni Award in Higher Education from Alcorn State University 1997 and from the Alcorn State University Dallas Alumni Chapter 2001; Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s Shirley B. Gordon International Presidential Award of Distinction, April 1999; and the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education Presidential Award 1997 and 2007.
Dr. Loston has served as a member of the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Workforce Development, the Tiger Team and Math Science Initiative both with the Department of Education and National Science Foundation; and was a member of the National Air and Space Museum’s Education Advisory Committee. Dr. Loston was recently appointed to the American Association of Community Colleges Commission on Academic, Student, and Community Development (2007-2010); the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Community and Technical Colleges Formula Advisory Committee (2007-2008); the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board African American Male Advisory Committee; and to the Board of Directors for the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education. Locally, she is a member of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Education Committee and the Higher Education Council of San Antonio (HECSA).
LEGACY
She is the mother of one son, Gilbert Williams Loston, III who resides in Houston.