Leading a Mission Driven Data Informed College Committed to Student Success

With two campuses, more than 20,000 students and about 1,100 employees, Pierce College is an educational powerhouse in the South Sound. Since 1967, Pierce has done nothing but grow and strive each and every year to serve its mission, which states: Pierce College creates quality educational opportunities for a diverse community of learners to thrive in an evolving world. At the helm is Michele L. Johnson, Ph.D., the school’s chancellor and CEO, who has dedicated the last 39 years of her life to growing and changing with the college. But she didn’t start out as chancellor and CEO. After growing up right here in Tacoma and attending Lincoln High School, she began as a teacher at Pierce.

“I’ve done all kinds of things,” she said. “I started as a part-time faculty member teaching criminal justice at our military site at McChord and Fort Lewis. I did that for a year and then I became a full-time tenured faculty member in criminal justice and sociology. I also coached fast pitch and basketball for five years during those early years.”

She was actually inducted into the Pierce College Athletics Hall of Fame for her work in coaching before going on to later become president of the Pierce College Fort Steilacoom campus when the college became two campuses in 1999. In 2005, when the previous president retired, the board approached her for a new position—chancellor over both campuses. She accepted and is currently in her 12th year as chancellor.

Pierce College set a bold goal to close the achievement gaps by 2020. The path to getting all students toward their goals zeroed in on individualized resources, from a stronger first- year experience to ground incoming students, to increased tutoring opportunities, to realizing not all students need the same resources. For her skill in leadership and the great strides Pierce College has made at getting more students to the finish line, Johnson recently received the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) 2016 Pacific Region CEO Award. Each year, the ACCT recognizes only one CEO for each of the five regions of the U.S.