Chancellor

Dr. Douglas B. Houston serves as the Chancellor of the Yuba Community College District (YCCD), his second CEO position in the State of California. Dr. Houston's 32-years career has been in various leadership roles: as commander of various military units, as an administrator to several community colleges, as a Boy Scout leader, and in various leadership roles in his church and community. He has taught full and part-time at the community college and university level, including as a Physics Professor at West Point. A strong believer in servant leadership, he feels public higher education is a sacred trust and thinks of his job as a "calling."

The son of a career Army officer, he grew up and attended school in various countries including Germany, Thailand and of course in various parts of the USA. An Eagle Scout, he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Physics from the University of Florida where he was a Distinguished Military Graduate and was recognized with the George Catlett Marshal Leadership Award, one of fifty honorees nationally. After leaving active military service, he earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the Pepperdine University.

Prior to coming to YCCD, Dr. Houston served as the Superintendent/President of Lassen College in Susanville California, successfully leading the College's accreditation and fiscal recovery. During this time he also initiated the development of the Lassen Educational Collaborative; a partnership of education, business and community to establish K-14 seamless transition and improve student success. He serves on the Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium / Workforce Investment Board and the Lassen Economic Development Council. He was recently appointed to the California Community Colleges' Economic Development Policy Advisory Committee and has just been elected to the Community Colleges' CEO Board.

Before his Presidency at Lassen College, he served in various administrative positions at Butte College in Oroville California and at Barstow College in Southern California. While at Butte College, he was recognized with an Award for Excellence from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development for work in support of faculty development and classroom-based research. He was also instrumental in the development of the Butte College Leader Development Institute, a signature program in California, to groom future administrators and faculty leaders at the college. While at Butte College he also served on Microsoft's national Community and Technical College Advisory Council. At Barstow College, Dr. Houston was the first administrator in the college's history to be recognized by the Associated Student Body with the James Hvilstead Hawk Leadership Award. He represented the college and the community of Barstow on the California High Desert Regional Economic Development Authority and served on the California Community Colleges Research and Planning Group Task Force on College Planning.

Dr. Houston’s home is, with his wife Kathryn, son Samuel, who is a student at UC Davis, and daughter Anna Marie, a student at CSU Sacramento, on a small ranchette south of Paradise, California ... along with some two dozen pets including horses, dogs, cats, chickens and other birds ... Kathy is a veterinarian! He enjoys camping, biking, boating, fishing, riding, woodcarving and carpentry; but most of all he enjoys the fellowship of family and friends.