Decatur, IL – Richland Community College’s Dr. Isaac Zúñiga has been named as a finalist as a Rising Star Executive in the 2025 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Awards of Excellence.
Dr. Zúñiga has dedicated his life’s work to bolstering student experiences. Before arriving at Richland Community College, he had grown into college leadership – from positions in adjunct instructing and financial & college advising to Associate Dean of Student Services. Dr. Zúñiga was hired as the Vice President of Student Success at Richland in 2018. Now, he is the college’s Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Success – safeguarding the academic excellence of the institution and fostering innovative approaches to increase enrollment and retention.
Last April, Dr. Zúñiga was one of 40 leaders selected by The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) for the 2024-25 Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship. Since then, he has been working with community college presidents and thought leaders to advance a clear vision for excellent and equitable student outcomes and applying his knowledge to his work at Richland. Dr. Zúñiga also is a Peer Reviewer for community colleges across the country through the Higher Learning Commission.
Additionally, Dr. Zúñiga serves as the executive officer and is on Board of Directors for The National Community College Hispanic Council (NCCHC) – which recently rebranded to become the National Community College Hispanic Concilio. NCCHC plays a pivotal role in advancing leadership development within the Hispanic community in higher education. In 2022, Dr. Zúñiga participated in one of its cornerstone initiatives, the Dr. Ted Martinez Jr, Fellowship Program. He was even honored with Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education’s (ILACHE) 2024 ILACHE Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I am truly honored to be named a finalist for the AACC Rising Star Executive Award,” Dr. Zúñiga said. “This recognition reflects the collective efforts of our campus leadership team and my dedicated staff, who tirelessly champion equity, growth, and student success every day.”
The AACC is the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges. With these awards, the organization seeks to bring national visibility to promising practices among its member colleges. Winners will be announced at the Awards of Excellence Gala on April 15 during the AACC Annual April 12-16 in Nashville, Tennessee.
About Richland Community College
Richland Community College has proudly and successfully served the citizens of district 537 through a strong mix of workforce, technical and transfer education for the past 51 years. Our dedicated staff provides diverse and meaningful support services to make every student’s experience both personal and rewarding. (www.richland.edu)