John W. “Bo” Porter, Jr.Rotary International District 6860District Governor, 2002-2003  Bo first became a Rotarian in 1984 in the Rotary Club of New Orleans. He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Shades Valley in Birmingham, Alabama since […]

John Covington is an inspiring and sometimes knee-slapping funny speaker with stories of his experiences as a chief executive officer and the training of his dogs. He discovered that leadership and relationship building skills required to work with dogs are […]

A native of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Dr. Mark Heinrich was the unanimous choice by the nine‐member State Board of Education to become the next chancellor of the Alabama Community College System on September 21, 2012. Heinrich holds a doctorate in counseling from The University of Alabama, and earned B.S. and M.A. degrees in psychology from Tennessee Tech University.  During the time he was completing his graduate degree at The University of Alabama, Heinrich served on Coach  Bryant’s staff as an academic counselor and tennis coach. Dr. Heinrich’s higher education career spans more than 30 years, during which he’s held leadership roles in academic, student service and technical/vocational areas. During that time, he served as an instructor, department chair, division dean, dean of instruction, academic vice president, associate provost, provost, and most recently, as president of Shelton State Community College. Before returning to Tuscaloosa in January, 2008 as president of Shelton State, Heinrich worked for Carson‐Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, as a faculty member and administrator. In addition to positions in academia, he worked as a private practitioner in psychology and serves on numerous community and academic boards. Throughout his career, he has been very involved with all aspects of accreditation, strategic planning, program and curriculum development, budget planning and development, enrollment management and many other administrative responsibilities typically associated with higher education. As an educational leader, Dr. Heinrich places a high value on participatory governance and team‐based leadership, a foundational philosophy he sees as essential in his role as an effective and successful leader of the Alabama Community College System. Dr. Heinrich believes strong college‐community relationships are paramount to the health of the system’s institutions and critical to the economies of their local communities. He has worked with many of the state’s workforce partners and believes that the Alabama Community College System holds the key to the state’s workforce needs. A self‐described collaborator, Dr. Heinrich is committed to developing strategies that will unite the system in a common goal to improve the state’s economy by providing a well‐educated and highly‐skilled workforce. Upon learning of his appointment as Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, Heinrich said, “I love the Alabama Community College System and I believe in the work that we do. I am looking forward to meeting this new challenge head on and getting to work.”