Dr. Walter Bumphus, a 1992 Murray State University Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient, was recently selected to receive the 2009 National Leadership Award from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). For more than 30 years, Bumphus has provided outstanding leadership for community colleges throughout the nation. He is a professor in the Community College Leadership Program and chair of the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. “I am deeply humbled by this award,” says Bumphus. “As a former AACC board member, I am familiar with the success that comes with this honor. I’m appreciative of the opportunities in my career to work with incredible people and many talented teams.”

The National Leadership Award is given based on two principal criteria: outstanding leadership at the national level over an extended period of time and a long-standing commitment to community colleges.

Bumphus began his career in higher education administration at Murray State in 1972 as director of minority affairs and dormitory director.

“The leadership lessons I learned at MSU made me the leader I’ve become today,” adds Bumphus. He continues to keep close ties with now retired MSU dean of continuing education Dr. John Yates, MSU men’s golf coach Eddie Hunt and retired MSU administrative staff member Norman Lane, all of Murray.

In 1974, Bumphus accepted a position as dean of students at East Arkansas Community College. He later served as vice president and dean of students at Howard Community College in Maryland for 14 years.

In 1991, Bumphus became the fourth president of Brookhaven College, one of seven colleges of the Dallas County Community College District (Texas). There, he oversaw the construction of a state-of-the-art, 150,000-square-foot student services center. He was elected to the AACC Board of Directors in 1993 and became its chair in 1996. He also worked in the private sector of education as the president of the Higher Education Division of Voyager Expanded Learning, providing curriculum and training materials for 1,000 school districts in 44 states.

In 2000, he was named chancellor of Baton Rouge Community College, which became one of the fastest growing colleges in the nation under his leadership. Subsequently, he served as president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS), reporting to a 17-member board for the institutions and acted as spokesperson for the entire system of colleges before national and state legislators. Under his leadership, the system experienced exponential growth, including the creation of two technical community colleges and the development of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System Leadership Development Institute. He led statewide efforts for transfer articulation agreements between the LCTCS and the other three systems of higher education in Louisiana.

Bumphus led the system in 2005 to deal with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, during which several colleges within the system had to suspend operations. He immediately responded by establishing a call center to dispense information regarding the colleges' activities during suspension and established temporary offices for the affected institutions. He assisted students by working with a leadership team to establish locations for them to receive assistance and ensured that displaced employees received salary up to three months after the storms.

In addition to his work at UT-Austin, Bumphus works as an educational consultant. He has consulted more than 85 community colleges and universities throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Bumphus is proud to say more than a dozen of his colleagues and students have gone on to become college presidents.

In 1971 he earned his bachelor of science degree in speech communication and in 1974 his master of education degree in guidance counseling, both from Murray State. Bumphus and his wife, Dr. Aileen Thompson Bumphus, a 1972 and 1973 MSU alumna, met as students at Murray State. Aileen recently completed her Ph.D. at the University of Southern Mississippi and is now serving as director of pre-college programs at UT-Austin. She was formerly recognized as a distinguished principal in Plano, Texas.

Bumphus will be recognized at the opening session of the AACC Annual Convention scheduled for April 4 in Phoenix.