Contact: Ralph Newell
Phone: 703.385.2981
Email: Ralph@TheEDULedger.com
Dr. Michael A. Baston to receive the 2026 EDU Ledger Champions Award
FAIRFAX, Va. — The EDU Ledger is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael A. Baston will be this year’s recipient of the Champions Award.
As president of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), Ohio's oldest and largest community college, serving nearly 40,000 students annually, Dr. Michael A. Baston has delivered results that resonate beyond the classroom and into the fabric of Northeast Ohio.
In just three years under Baston's leadership, more than 10,000 students have graduated from credit and noncredit programs — a 10.4% increase in completions. His student-centered approach has propelled Tri-C's credit enrollment up by 13.2%, defying national trends of declining community college enrollment. Under his bold direction, Tri-C boasts a 50% increase in delayed-entry students and an 18.7% rise in the College Credit Plus program that allows eligible students in grades 7 through 12 to earn high school and college credit at the same time. These are clear indicators of Baston's success in re-engaging adult learners and building momentum for high school students alike.
With a 20% growth in endowed assets and 16 new endowment funds created, Baston has secured lasting resources to support Tri-C's mission of keeping all students on track to succeed.
A national voice in community college reform, Baston serves on numerous boards and has received countless regional and national awards. In 2025, he was named Entrepreneurial President of the Year by the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE).
Baston earned his B.A. from Iona University, his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and his Ed.D. in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University.
About this award:
The Champions Award recognizes higher education leaders who have shown unwavering commitment to equal opportunity and access for all, particularly at the community college level.
The award was created in 2012 upon the retirement of the inaugural award winner, Dr. John E. Roueche, as director of the Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) at the University of Texas at Austin. Of the more than 500 CCLP graduates produced during his 40-plus year tenure at CCLP, more than 60% are women and people of color.
The award is given to individuals who have made similarly extraordinary contributions to the world of higher education. Learn more about past winners here, including the 2025 recipient of the award, Dr. Karen Stout.
This year’s Champions Award will be presented to Baston during the NISOD annual conference being held May 23-26 in Austin, Texas. The May 7 edition of The EDU Ledger will contain a tribute to his leadership.
For more than four decades, The EDU Ledger has been dedicated to expanding educational opportunity and advancing the success of students, faculty, staff, and administrators across the higher education landscape. Our editorial mission is to deliver comprehensive, research-informed coverage that goes beyond surface-level storytelling — offering deep analysis rooted in institutional and national data, revealing both the outcomes and the context behind them.
