BATON ROUGE, La - Dr. H. Neil Matkin was appointed today as the new LCTCS Executive Vice President. Matkin will join the LCTCS staff in July.

"Neil is joining our System at a very critical time and we are looking forward to the leadership he will provide," said Dr. Joe D. May, LCTCS president. "He's a proven leader and will be responsible for significant system initiatives that will support the continued advancement of workforce and educational development in the State of Louisiana. We welcome him to Louisiana and are pleased to have him as part of our executive leadership team."

As the executive vice president, Dr. Matkin will be responsible for providing leadership in the areas of academic and student affairs programs, career and technical education, workforce development and training and oversight and direction of the Carl Perkins federal funds in support of the system's sixteen community and technical colleges.

"I am pleased and honored to join the LCTCS team under the exemplary leadership of Dr. Joe May," Matkin said. "LCTCS is one of the fastest growing community college systems in the nation with excellent academic and technical programs to serve the needs of Louisiana's workforce. Building upon such a solid foundation with so many national policy successes is an incredible opportunity to create real options for Louisiana students."

Before agreeing to join LCTCS, Matkin spent nearly four years as President of San Jacinto College (SJC) Central in Pasadena, Texas. During that time the college saw impressive enrollment growth from 12,928 in Fall 2008 to 15,238 students in Fall 2011. He also led the Workforce and Economic Development Council which created a strategic focus for workforce training programs. During his tenure, he provided oversight for the creations of several programs on the campus including dental assisting, diagnostic sonography, agriculture, massage therapy, and agribusiness.

Matkin has also been recognized nationally for his work in higher education. He was appointed as a 2009-2010 Associate with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. This honor brought an additional recognition from Texas A&M at Commerce as a member of its Distinguished Alumni followed by a proclamation from Representative Ken Legler (TX-144) for his advancement to this prestigious post.

Prior to serving as president at San Jacinto College, Matkin was vice chancellor for information technology services at the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Prior to his time at VCCS, Matkin was the founding chief administrative officer for the Illinois Century Network having served previously as the co-director responsible for client services, fundraising, and outreach activities.

Serving in the capacity of senior associate director at the Illinois Board of Higher Education, he was involved in spearheading the creation of the nation's largest education network garnering both legislative and funding support.

Matkin holds a doctorate in higher education from Texas A&M University Commerce; an MBA from the University of Dallas in Irving, with a specialty in information systems; a master's degree in telecommunications management from Golden Gate University in Los Angeles; and bachelor and associate degrees in liberal arts / theology from Ambassador College in Pasadena, Calif., and Big Sandy, Texas, respectively.