Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea became the seventh president of Mott Community College in August 2014. In following years, the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program continued to recognize Mott Community College as one of America’s top community colleges for high achievement and performance four times during her tenure. Dr. Walker-Griffea retired from active duties at Mott Community College on June 30, 2024.
Contact: b.walkergriffeaE@mcc.edu
President Retirement and Emeritus Status Announcement
Dr. Beverly's Radio Show "Community Spotlight with MCC" Archive
We invite you to support Dr. Beverly’s inspiring legacy with a gift to the Dr. Beverly S. Walker-Griffea Academic Scholarship Endowment! This fund will acknowledge the importance of education, with a special emphasis on empowering Black students who have demonstrated academic excellence at Mott Community College!
Dr. Beverly, as she prefers to be called, has long advocated for collegiate student success, serving community college students in various capacities for more than 30 years. Dr. Beverly has a passion for ensuring all students have access to quality, affordable and effective learning experiences. She chose to share her talents with community colleges because of her deep connection to their missions and commitments to educate and provide opportunities for all citizens that desire to learn. Dr. Beverly believes community colleges must support the local community’s economic viability by preparing a skilled and successful workforce.
Since joining Mott Community College, Dr. Beverly has worked together with the MCC family of faculty, staff, administrators and students to chart a “Mott Strong” future for the College. Together, MCC has worked to establish an inclusive and welcoming environment, and to promote a commitment to employee and student success.
Under Dr. Beverly’s tenure, the College has implemented new resources and student support programming, hired student success coaches, restructured student completion pathways, strategically reduced enrollment and retention barriers, created inclusive spaces and facilities, developed a College Master Plan, opened the downtown Culinary Arts Building and the on-campus Lenore Croudy Family Life Center, established public/private partnerships for unique funding streams, custom designed and built a mobile learning lab, implemented unique collegewide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion measures such as "Telling Our Stories," The Circle and The MCC Council, as well as continually partnering with businesses, nonprofits and education institutions to deliver excellent academic and workforce opportunities. Dr. Beverly’s stewardship has maintained the College’s legacy of serving Flint and Genesee County as a stable foundation, an anchor for the region and a safe haven for MCC students.
Prior to joining the MCC family, Dr. Walker-Griffea served as Senior Vice President for Student Services at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland; Vice President of Student Affairs at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Virginia; Dean of Student Development at Houston Community College-Central Campus; and Interim Dean of Health and Environmental Sciences at Spokane Community College. Additionally, while at Spokane, Dr. Beverly earned tenure as a counseling faculty member leading the award-winning Single-Parent Program and served as Chair for the Institutional Diversity Department.
Service is important to Dr. Beverly. During her presidency, she has served nationally as the President for the American Association for Women in Community Colleges and as a member of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Board of Directors, as well as chair and co-chair of several AACC Commissions. Currently, Dr. Beverly is a member of the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Foundation Board of Trustees and serves on the Budget Committee.
Locally, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Flint Health Coalition and is currently a member of its Executive Committee, McLaren-Flint Hospital, Carriage Town Ministries, Metro Community Development, and the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) where she maintains a seat on MCCA’s Executive Committee and is currently the Chair of the Presidents’ Committee. In addition, Dr. Beverly is the chair of the Flint & Genesee Group (formerly Chamber of Commerce) Governing Board and a member of the Operating Board. She also serves as a member of the Flint Rotary Club, Flint Promise Zone Authority, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and is President of the Ivy House Foundation. Appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to represent the State of Michigan on the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) from 2018 to 2023, Dr. Beverly has served as the chair of GLWA and the chair of the Legal Committee. Dr. Beverly has been appointed by the Mayor of Flint and the Genesee County Board of Commissioners as a board member for the Bishop International Airport Authority. Dr. Beverly will represent public entities as a member of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Executive Committee. Dr. Beverly was appointed to the MEDC Executive Committee in April 2023.
Dr. Beverly was the first female and first African American president in Mott Community College’s history. She is committed to academic excellence, student access and success, dynamic industry partnerships, and significantly impacting local economies. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, she holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Child Development from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, a Master of Education in Guidance and Counseling from Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia, and a Bachelor of Science in Radio, Television and Film: News and Public Affairs from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In recognition of her many accomplishments, Dr. Beverly was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna by OSU in 2019 and is proud to be selected as a 2022 Texas Woman's University Distinguished Alumna. Dr. Beverly was also inducted into the OSU Diversity Hall of Fame in 2022.
Among her many accolades and accomplishments, Dr. Beverly has also been named 2023 CEO of the Year by the American Association of Community Colleges. As of July 1, 2024, Dr. Beverly will be the first Mott Community College President to have the title of President Emeritus bestowed upon her.