Dr. Justin H. Lonon is the eighth chancellor of Dallas College, the public college system for Dallas County. He has held the job since March 2022.
Career
Lonon joined the college in 2005. Before becoming chancellor, he served as executive vice chancellor, with responsibility for nearly every operational and strategic area of the college, and as interim president of the Brookhaven Campus. Earlier, he worked as press secretary in the Dallas mayor’s office and in other public affairs roles.
A native of Arkansas, he holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Missouri State University, a master of public administration from the University of North Texas and a doctorate in management from the University of Maryland Global Campus.
At Dallas College
Lonon helped lead the shift from seven separately accredited colleges to a single, unified Dallas College. Since becoming chancellor, he has expanded the college’s bachelor’s degree programs, which began with early childhood education and nursing, and created sector strategies that tie campus presidents to nine industries, including aerospace, construction, health care, finance and technology. The college also launched the Dallas Transfer Collaborative to make it easier for students to move into four-year universities in North Texas.
He has framed his agenda around what the college calls a 22nd Century College, and the college describes him as its chief barrier buster. During his tenure the college marked its 60th anniversary, launched a Dallas College Speakers Bureau and built a Student Care Network with philanthropic and civic partners.
He serves or has served on the boards of the Dallas Regional Chamber, the Dallas Workforce Solutions Board, United Ways of Texas, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas and the North Texas Crime Commission. In 2024 he was appointed to the board of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities.
He has also served on the Texas Association of Community Colleges executive committee and the boards of the Presidents Forum and Rebuilding America’s Middle Class, a national coalition of community colleges.
Recognition
Lonon was named to D CEO’s 2027 Dallas 500 in the colleges and universities category.