Gabriel Mast

Gabriel Mast, Ph.D. has served as the Vice President for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at Skagit Valley College since 2022. He has held several previous administrative positions in Washington State’s community and technical college system including Executive Dean for Instruction, Dean of Arts & Sciences, and Dean of Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing. Dr. Mast began his career in education teaching English in the Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras at the Universidad del Quindío, in Armenia Colombia. He subsequently worked as a high school biology teacher, a graduate student instructor, and as associate faculty for several community colleges.

Dr. Mast has extensive experience in grant acquisition and management, and has served as lead administrator, evaluator, and/or co-PI for multiple grants focused on improving student success, and has served as a peer reviewer for the National Science Foundation. His research is focused on institutional contributions to student success, institutional effectiveness, and the role of higher education in social mobility and equity; his dissertation on the effectiveness of Washington State’s community and technical colleges was awarded the Washington Education Research Association’s Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award.

In the community Dr. Mast currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for WECU, a not-for-profit credit union managing $3 billion in assets where he previously served as Board Vice Chair, Chair of the Nominating committee, and Board secretary. Dr. Mast earned his bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College, a master’s degree in Teaching Biology from Brown University, a master’s degree in Social Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Washington.