Chancellor
The Chancellor is responsible for overall operations of the district, which
educates more than 50,000 students at North Seattle Community College, Seattle Central
Community College, South Seattle Community College, the Seattle Vocational Institute
and five specialized training centers.
Charles H. Mitchell is a nationally recognized leader in higher education who has dedicated
his professional career to opening doors so that others can envision a future of opportunity
and promise.
Mitchell has served since 2003 as Chancellor of the Seattle Community Colleges, the largest
district in the state. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as president at Seattle Central Community College from 1987 to 2003.
Under his leadership, the college established a reputation for developing innovative
curriculum and student services, which were acknowledged with a Time Magazine "College
of the Year" Award in 2001.
The future leader grew up in Seattle and is a product of the city and state's
education system. He attended T.T. Minor Elementary School, Meany Junior High
and Garfield High School, where he served as vice president of the student body. He earned
a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington, a master's degree from Seattle
University and a doctorate of education from Brigham Young University. Early in his career,
Mitchell was also an administrator at Seattle University, and many years later, was asked to
serve on the university’s Board.
In addition to his career, Mitchell is also distinguished by his long record of service
in the Seattle region. His work includes membership on the Virginia Mason Board of
Governors, Puget Sound Blood Bank Board, University of Washington Tyee Board of Advisors,
and the Breakfast Group, an association of African-American men that provides support and
services to young African-American men in Seattle. He is also a co-chair of the Puget Sound
Prosperity Partnership Coalition, a board member for the Workforce Development Council of
Seattle-King County and a member of the Downtown Seattle Rotary. He has also served on the
boards of the Seattle Art Museum, the Seattle Foundation, Seattle Alliance for Education,
Leadership Tomorrow of King County, Seattle Goodwill Games, King County United Way, and King
County Boys and Girls Clubs. He was one of the first men in the country selected to serve on
the board of the YWCA.
Mitchell represents higher education locally, regionally and nationally. He
serves on national boards of the League for Innovation in the Community College and the American
Association of Community Colleges (AACC). At the request of the AACC, he recently testified for
the region’s two-year colleges before Secretary of Education Spellings Commission on Education.
U.S. Senator Patty Murray requested that Chancellor Mitchell testify at a regional meeting on
workforce training held in Seattle in Fall 2007.
Mitchell has received numerous awards recognizing his educational and community
achievements. They include the Charles E. Odegaard Award (2006), Pacific NW
Chapter-African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (2005), “Father of the Year” from the
American Diabetes Association (2002), and the Phi Theta Kappa Shirley B. Gordon Award of
Distinction (2001). He is a University of Washington “Husky Legend” and was also honored
with a UW Minority Affairs Program Alumnus Award. His work to advance minority students
in education was recognized with the Equity Award from the Trustees Association of Washington
Community Colleges.
He received the Earl Norman Award for Outstanding Community College Administrator from the
Washington State Administrators' Association; and a Leadership Award from the national
Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, which represents colleges across the country.
During his years at the University of Washington, Mitchell played football with the
UW Huskies and was a member of the winning 1961 Rose Bowl team. He was inducted into
the Husky Football Hall of Fame in 1992. After graduation from the UW, he played professional
football for six years with the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills.
Charles and his wife, Nancy, have two grown children, Julie and Rashad; a son-in-law, Darrin;
and twin granddaughters, Michelle and Tracey.