Dr. Francisco Solis Named President of San Antonio College

Dr. Francisco Solis, who served as interim president since March 2024, was approved unanimously by the Alamo Colleges District Board of Trustees on Tuesday, May 20.

An experienced higher education administrator with more than 25 years of service to San Antonio College, he is the first openly LGBTQ president in the college’s 100-year history.

“After a quarter century of service to SAC, Dr. Solis brings an impressive breadth of academic and administrative experience to the presidency, as well as an abiding passion for the shared mission and vision of Alamo Colleges,” said Alamo Colleges District Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores, whose leadership spans the district’s family of five community colleges.

“I’m deeply honored to be named president at such an exciting time in our college’s history,” Solis said. “We have achieved an enrollment of more than 20,000 students, we continue to develop new cutting-edge course and degree offerings, we will soon complete the next three-year strategic plan, and in September we will launch a year-long centennial celebration both honoring our rich history and looking ahead to our next century of service to the community.”

Solis is an alumnus of SAC, having earned an associate of applied science in mortuary science degree in 1995.

His tenure at the college began in 1999. Since then, he has served in a variety of teaching and leadership roles. He began as a professor and coordinator in the mortuary science program. Other roles included dean for performance excellence and director of learning assessment and review, where he collaborated closely with college leadership to design and implement the institution’s strategic plan.

Notably, Dr. Solis contributed to SAC's accreditation report to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and played a significant role in applications that led to major recognition for the college, including the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the Seal of Excelencia, the Carnegie Leadership for Public Purpose Classification and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

He retired from SAC in May 2023. Later, at the request of the chancellor, Solis came out of retirement in March 2024 to serve as interim president.

In addition to his career at San Antonio College, Solis has been president of the American Board of Funeral Service Education, chair of the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color, and president of the San Antonio Chapter of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE). He continues to teach as a faculty lecturer at the University of Texas at San Antonio in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Program.

Solis is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, St. Edward’s University, San Antonio College, and Central Catholic High School.

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