BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
OLIVIER CHARLES
Mr. Olivier Charles serves as the President of Bishop State Community College in Mobile,
Alabama. A strong advocate of making education more accessible for students from all
backgrounds, Mr. Charles’ ground level, innovative approach to leadership impacts teams across
the college campus. Having earned both a Bachelor of Science in Special Education and a Master
of Science in College Student Development from the University of West Alabama, he is currently
a doctoral student studying Higher Education Leadership at Mississippi State University.
Prior to Mr. Charles being named president of Bishop State, he served as Vice Chancellor for
Student Success with the Alabama Community College System (ACCS). In that role, he led the
entire state of Alabama through monumental enrollment growth including the first year-over-year
increase in headcount in 11 years. He also had oversight over all student affairs functions for the
entire state.
Mr. Charles has served in many capacities of education such as Dean of Students at Enterprise
State Community College, Director of Admissions and Recruitment at Auburn University at
Montgomery and as Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management at the University of
West Alabama. He has directed and managed best practice policies regarding student recruitment,
advising, admissions, athletics, financial aid, registrar, retention, marketing, ADA, Title IX, and
facilities. He served on and chaired numerous committees that involved reverse transfer,
technology, freshman studies, orientation, athletics (NCAA Division II, NAIA, and NJCAA),
scholarships, retention, and policy reviews.
In his commitment to both education and the community, he has served on the Southeast
Montgomery YMCA Board of Directors, where he co-chaired a capital campaign.
Mr. Charles resides with his wife Angela and daughter Claire in Mobile. In his spare time, he
enjoys playing golf.
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