Interim president to fill role full-time at Shelton State Community College

The interim president at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa will now fill the school's top leadership role on a permanent basis.

On Wednesday, the Alabama Community College System board of trustees unanimously approved Chris Cox as Shelton State's president during the board's regular meeting.

Cox had been serving as interim president since February after the departure of Brad Newman.

“The opportunity to permanently join the Buccaneer family is one of the highest honors I can imagine,” Cox said in a news release.

The Geneva native said that one of his objectives as president will be to build ties with the community.

“The future of Shelton State is very bright because of the excellence of our education and training programs, our outstanding faculty and students and our connections to the community we serve," Cox said. "We’re going to build and strengthen partnerships with K-12 schools, business and industry, and other colleges and universities so we can help our students and our community succeed like never before.”

Earlier this year, Cox announced partnerships with both Tuscaloosa City Schools and the Tuscaloosa County School System guaranteeing that all graduates of the two systems will be automatically accepted to Shelton State.

Jimmy H. Baker, chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, said he was impressed by what Cox has accomplished as interim president at Shelton, one of the state's largest community college's with around 7,000 students at its two Tuscaloosa campuses.

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“Chris’ tenure at Shelton State has already proven to be a game-changer for the students, faculty, staff and workforce region," Baker said. "I’m thrilled to see what happens next for residents, schools and business partners who rely on Shelton State to deliver.”

Before being appointed to his role at Shelton State, Cox worked as special assistant to Baker in the the Alabama Community College System. He also has served as an interim president at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals, Bevill State Community College in Jasper and Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Andalusia.

Cox began his career as a teacher and coach at Dale County High School in Midland City. He later served as assistant principal at Geneva High School in Geneva and principal at Pinedale Elementary School in Enterprise.

Before joining the community college system, Cox worked as Oxford High School’s principal and then as assistant superintendent for the Oxford City Board of Education.

Cox earned a bachelor of science degree in social science from Troy State University, a master of science degree in educational administration from Alabama State University and earned a doctor of philosophy degree in educational administration from Auburn University.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Chris Cox named full-time president at Shelton State Community College