Dr. Terry O'Banion
O'Banion was widely recognized as the architect of the "learning college" movement and dedicated his 60-year career to transforming how community colleges serve students.
Under O'Banion's visionary leadership from 1983 to 1999, the League for Innovation grew from a small regional consortium to what Change magazine called "the most dynamic organization in the community college world" in 1998, serving over 750 colleges internationally.
O'Banion was widely regarded as one of the most prolific and provocative writers on the community college in the history of the community college, with more than 300 publications to his name. His 1997 landmark book, A Learning College for the 21st Century, fundamentally shifted how educators think about community college mission and practice, earning him the Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature in the Field of Continuing Higher Education.
The "learning college" concept O'Banion pioneered emphasized placing learning first in all institutional decisions, fundamentally transforming how community colleges approach student success. His framework moved institutions from being teaching-centered to learning-centered, focusing on measurable student outcomes rather than just course offerings.
O'Banion's career trajectory reflected his deep commitment to community college education at every level. He served as Dean of Students at Central Florida Community College, Founding Dean at Santa Fe Community College in Florida, and Vice Chancellor for Education for the Dallas County Community College District in Texas before assuming leadership roles that would shape the national conversation about community colleges.
Beyond his administrative roles, O'Banion held academic appointments including Professor of Higher Education at the University of Illinois, Distinguished Visiting Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, and positions at UC Berkeley, Florida State University, University of Hawaii, and University of Toronto. At the time of his death, he was Senior Professor of Practice in the Community College Leadership Program at Kansas State University.
In a 1998 survey of 11,000 higher education leaders, O'Banion was named one of 11 "Idea Champions" who set the agenda for all of higher education—and was the only community college leader on the list.
His influence extended far beyond theory to practical implementation. O'Banion consulted in more than 1,000 community colleges throughout the United States and Canada, and keynoted conferences across dozens of states and provinces as well as internationally in Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan.
Six national awards bear his name, testament to his wide-ranging impact on education: the Terry O'Banion Student Technology Award (Microsoft Corporation), the Terry O'Banion Prize for Teaching and Learning (Educational Testing Service), the Terry O'Banion Shared Journey Award (National Council on Student Development), the O'Banion Leadership Scholarships (Walden University), the John Roueche and Terry O'Banion International Leadership Award (League for Innovation), and the Terry O'Banion Legacy Award (League for Innovation).
In 2016, Diverse honored O’Banion with its Diverse Champions award.
O'Banion authored 18 books and more than 250 monographs, chapters, and articles on community college education. His recent works included 13 Ideas That Are Transforming the Community College World (2019), Academic Advising in the Community College (2019), and Student Success in the Community College: What Really Works? (2020), demonstrating his continued engagement with contemporary challenges facing community colleges.
Throughout his career, O'Banion described himself as "a provocateur in the field of education: someone who proposes what can enhance learning, exposes what reduces learning, and challenges what is to create what can be."
