Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr., 84, passed away on March 8, 2020. Dr. de los Santos earned his associate of arts degree from Laredo Junior College in 1955. He received the B.A. in English in 1957, the M.L.S. in Library Science in 1959 and the Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The University of Texas at Austin in 1965. He was the first Hispanic to earn the Ph.D. from the Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) from UT Austin. Alfredo was a US Military Veteran, he served in the United States Army progressing to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Alfredo began his professional career as an English faculty member and Assistant Librarian at Laredo Junior College. He was the Founding Librarian and Dean at Florida Keys Junior College (FL); and served as Dean of Instruction at Northampton County Community College (PA). He was the Founding President of El Paso Community (TX), the first Chicano to be named president of a community college in this country. He served for more than twenty-one years as Vice Chancellor for Student and Educational Development at the Maricopa Community Colleges; he retired in 1999. During his service at Maricopa, Dr. de los Santos was responsible for a number of functions, including articulation, curriculum and instruction, innovation, facilities planning, external resource development, construction management, student and faculty development, international education, workforce development, and institutional research.

During the decade of the l990s, he was principal investigator for a number of grants funded by the National Science Foundation totaling more than $25 million, including the Phoenix Urban Systemic Initiative ($15 million) and the Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center ($5 million).



He taught Community College Administration at ASU's College of Education part time. After retiring from Maricopa, he served from 2000-2019 as a research professor for the Hispanic Research Center at ASU Main in Tempe. He also continued to teach Community College Administration at ASU's College of Education. In addition, he served as Senior League Fellow for The League for Innovation in the Community College from 2000 to 2006. Dr. de los Santos served on the board of trustees of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute; Jobs for the Future Inc.; META, Inc.; and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. He was co-principal investigator for two programs funded by the National Science Foundation: the Technical Education Initiative at the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities at ASU.



Over the years, he served on the board of several organizations, including the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the American Association of Community Colleges, Educational Testing Service, the American Association for Higher Education, American College Testing, the American Council on Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), United States Open University and The College Board.



He received numerous honors and awards, including the 2005 Leadership Award from the National Council of Instructional Administrators; the 2004 Leadership Award from the American Association of Community Colleges; the 2001 Reginald Wilson Award from the American Council on Education; the l998 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education; the Lifelong Dedication to Hispanic Education Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; the l993 Education Achievement Award from the National Science Foundation; and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development International Leadership Award.



Alfredo is survived by his wife, Carmen Elizalde de los Santos, three sons, two sisters, cousins, nephews and nieces. He is preceded in death by a sister. Funeral Mass services will be held at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Tempe, AZ, at a time and date TBD. Burial services will be held in Laredo, TX at a later time and date TBD. The family requests that a contribution be made to the de los Santos/Elizalde Scholarship Fund at Laredo Community College, West End Washington Street, Laredo, TX 78040 (Source: Arizona Republic)