Bettencourt named San Jacinto College North Campus Provost
PASADENA, Texas – The San Jacinto College Board of Trustees has approved Dr. Laura Bettencourt as provost of the San Jacinto College North Campus. Bettencourt will begin her role on June 15, 2026.
Bettencourt comes to San Jacinto College with more than 20 years of executive community college leadership, most recently as senior associate vice chancellor for academic support at Lone Star College. Her higher education experience spans academic affairs, online education, workforce development, strategic planning, accreditation, and student success initiatives.
“San Jacinto College has a tremendous legacy of caring for its students and truly serving its community. Those values resonate deeply with me and reflect why I chose to devote my career to the community college environment,” said Bettencourt. “I have been able to witness the transformative work happening at San Jacinto College firsthand, every day. I saw a wonderful alignment between the essential functions of the provost role and the full scope of experience I have built over my career, and I knew this was exactly the kind of student-focused, forward-thinking environment where I could contribute in a meaningful way.”
At Lone Star College, Bettencourt provides strategic leadership and oversight for system-wide academic support initiatives, primarily innovative credentialing and grants alignment. Most recently, her work has focused on establishing a comprehensive framework and systematic process to support the development of high-quality micro-credentials for students. She also serves as grant manager for several system-level grants, such as Perkins and a Houston Endowment grant focused on accelerating the implementation of Texas House Bill 8. The work is aimed at aligning projects to increase student success and completion across the Lone Star College system.
In addition, Bettencourt helped design and launch Lone Star College-Online, the system’s eighth campus. Under her leadership, the campus enrolled 3,643 students in its inaugural semester and was recognized as a Bellwether Award Finalist. She also served as vice president of instruction at Lone Star College – North Harris, where she helped to build a data-informed culture of student success that earned the campus the 2020 Example of Excelencia Award from Excelencia in Education and the 2018 Exemplary Program recognition from the National Council for Workforce Education.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Bettencourt to San Jacinto College,” said Dr. Alexander Okwonna, incoming deputy chancellor and College president. “Dr. Bettencourt is a student-focused leader who brings a strong commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and community engagement. Her extensive experience in higher education, and her passion for supporting students and expanding access and opportunities for them, makes her an outstanding choice to lead our North Campus. I look forward to working with her as we continue advancing opportunities for our students, employees, and the communities we serve.”
Prior to her work at Lone Star College, Bettencourt served in the North Carolina Community College System, helping Guilford Technical Community College grow its enrollment by 4.7%. She also had extensive work in curriculum development, accreditation, faculty development, institutional assessment, and workforce programming.
Bettencourt is eager to work directly with the community and alongside the faculty and staff at the North Campus to continue the transformative work and momentum that already exists. “Throughout my career, my greatest passion has always been creating opportunities for students, particularly those who are historically underrepresented or face barriers to success,” said Bettencourt. “San Jacinto College is not just talking about student success — it is delivering it.”
“I am also excited to join the Strategic Leadership Team and contribute to the BOLD 2030 strategic plan. Having spent years working across multi-campus systems, I understand how powerful it is when campus leadership and district leadership are aligned and moving in the same direction. San Jacinto College has that, and I cannot wait to be part of it.”
Bettencourt holds Doctor of Education in higher education and organizational change from Benedictine University, a Master of Arts in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Marshall University. Her doctoral research explored the experiences of community college women faculty transitioning into leadership, a topic that continues to inform her commitment to cultivating the next generation of educators and leaders.
About San Jacinto College
Surrounded by monuments of history, evolving industries, maritime enterprises of today,
and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the people of East Harris
County, Texas, since 1961. The College is ranked second in the nation among more than
1,100 community colleges, as designated by the Aspen Institute and was named an Achieving
the Dream Leader College of Distinction in 2020 and 2026. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution
that spans five campuses, plus an online college, San Jacinto College serves approximately
45,000 credit and non-credit students annually. It offers more than 200 degrees and
certificates across eight major areas of study that put students on a path to transfer
to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. The College is fiscally sound, holding
bond ratings of AA+ by Standard & Poor’s and Aa2 by Moody’s. San Jacinto College is
accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
