Biography

Dr. Gonzales has over 25 years of instructional and administrative experience in higher education. Before serving as the interim Chancellor for two years, Dr. Gonzales served as the eighth president of GateWay Community College, one of 10 colleges serving more than 10,000 annually across four locations and one extended site. The college employs more than 400 faculty and staff members and is the only college in the district to boast a Children’s Learning Center, an Early College High School, more than 150 post-secondary and higher education options, and the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation.

Prior to GateWay, Dr. Gonzales served as the acting associate vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer for the Pinal County Community College District that operates as Central Arizona College, a multi-campus college serving more than 15,000 students, employing 350 faculty and staff, and annually contracting with an estimated 600 adjunct faculty. At Central Arizona College, he also served as dean of communications, math, and learning support; associate dean of academic services; and math professor during his 15-year period with the college.

Most recently, he published an article in the New Directions for Community Colleges journal and has been invited to join the Expanding Community College Apprenticeship initiative, a task force through the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Additional past and present professional memberships, committees, and affiliations include the AACC Board of Directors; AACC Executive Board; AACC Commission on Academic, Student, and Community Engagement; National Community College Hispanic Council Executive Board Member; Community College Survey of Student Engagement Board of Directors; Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development; and AZ Post-Secondary Education Board of Commissioners.

His community involvement includes previously or currently serving on the Terros Health Board of Directors, Phoenix Forward Healthcare Leadership Council, City of Phoenix Workforce Development Board of Directors, Degree Phoenix Advisory Committee, Phoenix Community Alliance-Education Advisory Committee as well as Health and Bioscience, AZ Town Hall, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton’s Transit Oriented Development Council, Van Buren Civic Association, Mountain Park Health Centers’ Stakeholders’ Committee, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Coolidge Rotary, and the Pinal County Town Hall Executive Planning Committee and the Resolution Copper Education Advisory Committee.

He is an adjunct faculty member for Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College graduate program and the Roueche Graduate Center’s Community College Leadership Program, Kansas State University doctoral program. Additional scholarly work includes articles in the journal New Directions for Community Colleges and a chapter in the book Generation X Presidents Leading Community Colleges: New Challenges, New Leaders.

Dr. Gonzales earned his doctorate in educational administration in the top-ranked Community College Leadership Program from the University of Texas at Austin. His doctoral research focused primarily on the improvement of developmental education. He was awarded a University Preemptive Fellowship in addition to the John and Suanne Roueche Fellowship. He holds a Master of Arts in teaching mathematics and a Bachelor of Science in secondary education with a focus on mathematics from Northern Arizona University.