Sandy Shugart

Sanford “Sandy” Shugart served from 2000 to 2021 as the fourth president of Valencia College in greater Orlando, Florida. As winner of the first Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, Valencia is one of the most celebrated community colleges in America. Serving some 70,000 students per year, Valencia is known for high rates of graduation, transfer, and job placement and has become a national laboratory for best practices in learning-centered education.

Prior to Valencia, Sandy served as president of North Harris College and as vice president and chief academic officer of the North Carolina Community College System.

He earned his Ph.D. in teaching and learning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to his career in education, Sandy is a published poet and songwriter and author of Leadership in the Crucible of Work: Discovering the Interior Life of an Authentic Leader.