Dr. William Serrata - EPCC President

Biography

Dr. William Serrata has been the President of the El Paso County Community College District since August 2012. Dr. Serrata holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Texas A&M University – College Station, a Master’s Degree from the University of Texas at Brownsville, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Human Resource Development from Texas A&M University – College Station.

During his career, Dr. Serrata has provided enrollment management leadership in fostering enrollment growth as well as increases in student retention, dual credit enrollment, and graduation rates with an emphasis on first-generation and Hispanic populations and establishing a college-going culture. As President of EPCC, he has become recognized for his leadership in higher education at the local, regional, and national levels.

Dr. Serrata is an active member of the El Paso community and currently serves as a Board Member for Workforce Solutions Borderplex, Board of Directors for the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors for the El Paso Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Chair of the Board for the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence. At the state level Dr. Serrata serves as the Chair for the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC), Co-Chair of the TACC Business Advisory Council, Chair of the TACC Texas Success Center Advisory Committee, Past Chair of the Texas Student Success Council convened by Educate Texas, and on the Board of Directors for Humanities Texas.

On the national level, Dr. Serrata serves on the Board of Directors for the Lumina Foundation, has previously served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Immediate Past-Chair of the Board of Directors of Excelencia in Education and serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Higher Education Research and Development Institute (HERDI). Dr. Serrata previously served on the National Student Clearing House Advisory Council and was a member of the 2015 class of the Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows. In 2019 Dr. Serrata was selected as the Western Region Chief Executive of the Year by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and subsequently received the Marie Y. Martin Chief Executive Officer Award during the national conference.

Under Dr. Serrata’s leadership, the Aspen Institute announced that El Paso Community College (EPCC) was named one of 10 nation-wide finalists for the 2015 Aspen Prize for community college excellence which recognizes a college’s impact on student success. EPCC was selected from a pool of nearly 1,200 community colleges. Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education and Community College Week magazines continue to recognize EPCC as a national leader in awarding associate degrees to Hispanic students. The College earned the Seal of Excelencia from Excelencia in Education for EPCC’s outcomes in accelerating Latino student success. EPCC received the 2016 AACC’s Student Success Award and is the recipient of the ACCT Western Regional Equity Award in 2016 and 2022.

Dr. Serrata and his wife Jessica have been married for over 20 years and are blessed with two wonderful sons, Nathan and Joshua. Dr. Serrata enjoys fishing, reading, and spending time with his family.