Mohawk Valley Community College Board of Trustee member David Mathis ’70 presided over the first all-virtual Community College National Legislative Summit of the Association of Community College Trustees Feb. 8-10, and personally introduced Dr. Jill Biden as a speaker on Tuesday.

As chair of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), Mathis opened and closed the Summit for the more than 2,000 community college trustees, presidents, congressional representatives, political analysts, and other national leaders in attendance. The Summit, usually conducted in Washington, D.C., is an advocacy event in which participants discuss current and future federal policy issues that impact community colleges. This year’s Summit focused on coronavirus relief, workforce development, Pell grants, and the DREAM Act.

Mathis has served as an MVCC Trustee successively since 1977 and has acted as vice president of the Board and chair for two and three terms, respectively. In October 2020, he was elected as chair of the ACCT, a non-profit educational organization that represents more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the U.S. and beyond.