Bay College President Dr. Nerita Hughes has been elected to serve as an Institutional Representative on the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Board of Directors. Her term will begin on July 1, 2026.
The AACC’s 32-member board represents community colleges across the nation, guiding the organization’s vision, ensuring effective performance, and maintaining accountability to its members. The association is dedicated to its mission of “Building a Nation of Learners by Advancing America’s Community Colleges.”
Hughes was one of nineteen candidates on the AACC ballot competing to fill six open seats. She will serve a three-year term, contributing her strategic leadership and governance in support of member colleges.
AACC represents nearly 1,200 associate degree-granting institutions that serve more than twelve million students, including an increasing number of international members. The organization’s core values—integrity, excellence, leadership, learning, diversity, commitment, and connectedness—underscore its dedication to serving and advocating for community colleges, which now make up the largest and fastest-growing sector of higher education.
Hughes became President of Bay College on July 10, 2023. The college serves approximately 5,000 students each year, offering career certificates, associate degrees, transfer programs, industry certifications, workforce training, and professional development.
On July 10, 2025, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed Hughes to the State of Michigan Workforce Development Board. Hughes is completing her current term as a commissioner for the structured pathways with AACC, which began July 1, 2023, and will conclude June 30, 2026.
About Bay College
Bay College is the community’s college with a mission of: Student Success, Community Success, and Culture of Success. Bay is devoted to each individual’s achievement in the classroom, on-campus, online, in the community, and into the workforce by providing career certificates, associate degrees, transferable university credits, industry certifications, trainings, and professional development programs which develop skillsets, enrich individuals, and advance careers. #BayIsTheWay