As senior vice president for programs and services at the American Council on Education, Shirley Robinson Pippins leads a division that includes the Center for Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity; Office of Women in Higher Education; The Spectrum Initiative; Center for Lifelong Learning; Corporate Programs; Military Programs; and the GED® Testing Service. Pippins came to ACE in 2009 from Suffolk County Community College in New York where she served as president of the two-year, multi-campus institution since 2003—the first woman and the first African American to lead the institution in its history. She is a previous member of the executive committee of the board of the American Association of Community Colleges and serves on ACE’s Commission on Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity. Pippins is a past chair of ACE's Commission on Women in Higher Education. Prior to Suffolk County Community College, Pippins served for eight years as president of Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, VA. She has also held senior leadership positions at Westchester Community College (NY). Pippins earned her doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University and completed studies at Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management. She holds master’s degrees from the University of Illinois; Teachers College, Columbia University; and Manhattanville College in New York. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, where she graduated as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa national honor society.
Shirley Robinson Pippins, Ed.D.