VP Debi Gaitan Accepted to Harvard Graduate Institute

Northwest Vista College Vice President for Student Success Debi Gaitan was accepted into the highly competitive Harvard University Graduate Institute for Educational Management (IEM). She also recieved financial sponsorship to attend from Alamo Colleges Chancellor Mike Flores.

IEM is an eight-day/96-clock hour comprehensive and engaging learning program that is preceeded by 40 hours of prep-work. The focus on leadership best practices to help navigate complex challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities is weaved throughout the program.

In addition to numerous Harvard faculty, IEM learners spent quality time with higher education legends such as:

Dr. Juliet Garcia, 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient as the first Latina President of a University she spent 22 years at the UT Brownsville. She was a 2014 CNN/Fortune World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, and 2009 Time Magazine’s 10 Best Presidents.

Dr. Ruth Simmons recently served as President of Prarie View A&M University, a historically Black university, and previously served as the 18th president of Brown University where she was the first African American president of an Ivy League.

Dr. David Kwabena Wilson, President of Morgan University. To his credit, Dr. Wilson was named in Forbes as a “Top Black Higher Ed CEO to Watch in 2023.” He has also authored two books and more than 20 articles in scholarly journals. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on Board of Advisors on HBCUs. He has numerous awards and recognitions and is a well known advocate and supporter of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Debi is grateful and honored for the opportunity to be an IEM alumna. She was reminded that where much is given much is required so she plans to keep studying and implementing IEM lessons learned.