BY Daniel Perry
A Texas State Technical College graduate and former faculty member was recently honored by the Texas Association of Community Colleges.
Juan E. Mejia, provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Tyler Junior College, received TACC’s Carl M. Nelson Administrative Leadership Award at the organization’s state conference in July in San Antonio. Mejia is a former lab assistant and chair of the Medical Records Clerk/Transcriptionist program at what was then Texas State Technical College in Harlingen’s McAllen Extension before it was converted to South Texas College’s Pecan Campus through state legislative action in 1993.
“Receiving this award is very special, and I hope that it reflects well on TSTC for their ongoing focus on graduates who will serve our great state,” Mejia said. “I have fond memories of the students who were also in the classes with me and especially of the faculty for their caring approach to student success.”
Mejia has also been a TSTC Commencement speaker.
“It meant a lot to me because it was where my experience with TSTC started,” he said. “Dr. J. Gilbert Leal, president at the time, and Provost Pat Hobbs were kind to extend the invitation, and I had been fortunate to know them while I was a student and later as colleagues.”
Mejia joined South Texas College in 1993 as chair of the health sciences program before becoming assistant vice president for academic affairs in 1996. He was later STC’s vice president for academic affairs before he joined Tyler Junior College in 2013.
“He promotes leadership that includes empowerment, legacy and accountability through ethical behavior, and I have grown to admire his tremendous talent, intelligence, critical thinking and personal traits that make him a fine leader,” said Dr. Michael Metke, president of TJC.
While in the Rio Grande Valley, Mejia was active on the South Texas Higher Education Council, the National Council for Workforce Education and the Texas State Leadership Consortium for Curriculum Development.
Mejia was honored with House Resolution 689 during the Texas Legislature’s 84th session in 2015 for his contributions to higher education.
Mejia graduated in 1986 from TSTC and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. He also has a Master of Education degree in Adult Education and a Doctorate in Education in Educational Leadership from Texas A&M University – Kingsville.
The Texas Association of Community Colleges is a consortium of the state’s two-year institutions advocating for advancing higher education. The organization’s award is named after Carl M. Nelson, who was Texarkana College’s president from 1975 to 2001.
For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.
