Community college trustees are becoming more racially diverse and increasingly female, but face significant challenges related to enrollment declines and funding constraints, according to a new study released by the Association of Community College Trustees and the Center for the Study of Community Colleges.
Dr. Carrie B. Kisker
Women now comprise 47% of community college trustees, up from 33% in 1997, approaching parity with the general U.S. adult population. The percentage of trustees who are people of color more than doubled during the same period, reaching 27% in 2025, though white trustees remain the majority at 73%.
"This landmark study demonstrates the vital role trustees play in shaping the future of community colleges," said David Conner, ACCT associate vice president for strategic communications. "It shows that board members are engaged, invested, and dedicated to their fiduciary responsibilities and student success."
However, the study also found that trustees are aging. The average trustee is now 65 years old, compared to 58 in 1997, with the most common age being 70. Multiple trustees interviewed for the study acknowledged the need for succession planning given the aging board population.
Nearly two in five trustees were first-generation college students, and 64% attended a community college themselves—figures that have risen since 1997. Among trustees who attended community colleges, 83% hold bachelor's or higher degrees, and 71% earn at least $100,000 annually, demonstrating the institutions' role as economic mobility engines.
"Community college trustees have a pulse on their communities' needs, a deep commitment to the community college mission of open access to high-quality higher education for all people, and the kind of visionary thinking needed to keep their institutions thriving," said ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee.
Trustees identified enrollment (63%) and funding (51%) as their institutions' greatest challenges. Access and affordability for students (43%), student progress and completion (39%), and occupational training and workforce development (28%) also ranked high.
"We're all focusing on the challenge of the enrollment cliff," one trustee said in an interview. "I think we are up from last year in our enrollment numbers, but we can't lose sight of how we attract and retain and move these folks on to jobs."
Strategic priorities reflected these concerns, with 70% of trustees citing student completion and attainment as a top priority, followed by workforce training (64%) and increasing enrollment (57%).
The study found remarkably high trust levels between trustees and their college CEOs, with 94% indicating strong trust and 96% reporting strong support. Two-thirds of trustees said CEOs and senior administrators have the greatest influence on board decisions.
"The demands on a college president are huge," one trustee noted. "When you get somebody, you've got to support them. You hire somebody and then you get out of their way and let them do what you hired them to do."
Despite challenges, 53% of trustees reported their boards have a somewhat or very strong appetite for systemic change. Support for transformation varied depending on institutional challenges, with trustees at colleges facing transfer and articulation or funding issues showing the strongest support for change.
Trustees expressed strong interest in additional training, particularly in strategic planning (56%), budget management (51%), and board ethics (50%). The study found that 80% of trustees have completed orientation at their institutions, up substantially from 1997, with many states now mandating such training.
Dr. Carrie B. Kisker, managing director of the Center for the Study of Community Colleges, pointed to the partnership's value.
"Connecting CSCC's research capacity with ACCT's deep understanding of its membership and global network is the kind of partnership needed for this level of scholarship," she said. "For the first time, we have data on trustees that can be generalized across the country."
