President & CEO

Leigh B. Goodson, Ph.D.

President and CEO, Tulsa Community College

Since 2014, Leigh B. Goodson, Ph.D., has served as President and CEO of Tulsa Community College, Oklahoma’s third-largest college with more than 20,000 students enrolled annually and approximately 1,700 employees.  

Under her leadership, TCC launched and met the College’s $20 million campaign, developed Oklahoma’s first “early college high school program,” and gained acceptance into the American Association of Community College’s Pathways Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. TCC has also prioritized its work with university transfer partners and is a key contributing member of the Tulsa Higher Education Consortium, a collaborative partnership with local universities.  

In 2021, under her leadership, TCC won the AACC Award of Excellence in both the Student Success category, as well as Safety and Planning. In 2023, the College was selected by the Aspen Institute and the Community College Research Center for a first-of-its-kind initiative, called Unlocking Opportunity: The Post-Graduation Success and Equity Network.

Dr. Goodson earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Research and Evaluation from OSU, a Master of Science in Organizational Communication from Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS., and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from OSU. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma Class XXIII and Leadership Tulsa Class 35 and completed an Aspen Presidential Fellowship in 2016.  

A prominent figure in Tulsa and beyond, she has served on more than 25 boards and commissions and currently serves on the boards of the Tulsa Regional Chamber, the Oklahoma Business Roundtable and the National Advisory Board for the Center for Community College Student Engagement. In 2021, she was elected to the national AACC board of directors. Then in 2024 she became chair-elect of the AACC board and will serve as chair beginning on July 1, 2025.  

Her many honors include The Journal Record’s Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEO in the public category, and induction into the publication’s Circle of Excellence for her ongoing contributions. In 2023, she was recognized by Leadership Oklahoma as a Distinguished Graduate.

Dr. Goodson has invested herself and her career in education, having served previously as a university faculty member and university administrator. Her priority is student success.