Dr. Charlene M. Dukes is the eighth and first female president of Prince George’s Community College (PGCC). With more than 44,000 students at 6 locations, including the Largo Campus, Prince George’s Community College offers 200 credit and workforce development and continuing education programs. The college is home to the National Cyberwatch Center, an ATE site funded by the National Science Foundation, and is designated a 2010-2015 Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance at the two-year level. PGCC is also the location of the first middle college high school in Maryland, the Academy for Health Sciences, which is a partnership with the Prince George’s County Public Schools. The first graduating class will receive high school diplomas and associate degrees simultaneously in May 2015.
She holds membership in a variety of professional organizations, including the boards of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges; the American Association of Colleges and Universities; the Community College Advisory Panel of the College Board; the Institute for Higher Education Policy; the President’s Round Table; and the National Council on Black American Affairs. Dukes is a member of the board of directors of the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce, the Business Round Table, Doctors’ Community Hospital, College Summit of the National Capital Region, and Hillside-Works Scholarship Connection. She is on the board of directors of the Harlem Renaissance Foundation and the Community Foundation of the National Capital Area.
She serves as secretary of the Presidents’ Round Table and co-coordinated the Thomas Lakin Institute for Mentored Leadership from 2009 to the present. Dr. Dukes was adjunct faculty at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh in the English Department, at Prince George's Community College in Learning Foundations (formerly Developmental Studies), and at Morgan State University in the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program. Appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley in 2007, she is currently the president of the Maryland State Board of Education. In 2014, Dr. Dukes was the recipient of the Dr. Reginald Wilson Leadership Diversity Leadership Award presented by the American Council on Education, the Living Legacy Award presented by the Association for the Study of African Life and History, and the Golden Hammer award from the Fuller Center for Housing. In 2011 and 2013, she was recognized by the Washingtonian as one of the 100 most powerful women in the Washington metropolitan area. She was inducted into the Maryland’s Women Hall of Fame in 2013.
In 2011, she was honored by the Mitchellville chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and in 2010 and 2009, Dr. Dukes was recognized for leadership in education by the Pi Upsilon Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. In 2009, she received the “1St Ladies Award” given by Radio One and My Sister’s Keeper Organization and the “Luminary Award” from the Prince George’s County Black Chamber of Commerce. She received, in 2008, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In October 2007, the African-American Alumni Council of the University of Pittsburgh recognized Dr. Dukes as an Outstanding Alumnus. From 2002 through 2006, she served on the Appointed Board of Education of Prince George’s County and chaired the Student Support, Student Appeals, and Personnel Committees. She participated in the Executive Leadership Institute sponsored by the League for Innovation; Women in Leadership sponsored by the Office of Women in Higher Education/American Council on Education; and the National Leadership Academy sponsored the Association of Community College Trustees.
Dr. Dukes is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a member of the Prince George’s County (MD) Chapter of the Links, Inc., and a member of the “Go On Girl” National Book Club. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education with an English concentration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master’s and doctorate in Administrative and Policy Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.