Torey Alston Looks to the Future of Higher Education and Institutional Leadership

BROWARD COUNTY, FL / ACCESS Newswire / October 23, 2026 /Former Broward College President and CEO Torey Alston is looking toward the next chapter of his career with a continued focus on higher education, economic mobility, organizational transformation and public service.

Alston served as the eighth President and CEO of Broward College from February 2025 through August 2026, leading one of Florida 's largest state colleges, serving more than 54,000 students.

During his tenure, Broward College increased enrollment to its highest level in five state reporting years, earned its first Purple Star Campus designation supporting veterans and military-connected students, and was named among the Aspen Institute 's Top 200 community colleges nationwide. The College also secured $11.7 million in state appropriations toward a new health sciences and nursing facility and $1 million in federal community project funding.

Those experiences reinforced Alston 's belief that higher education is entering a period that will require institutions to become more responsive to students, employers and rapidly changing economic conditions.

"The question for higher education is no longer simply how many students we enroll, " Alston said. "We also have to ask whether students complete, whether our programs connect to opportunity and whether students and communities are demonstrably better because we are there. "

Connecting Education With Opportunity

Alston believes colleges and universities must increasingly connect access with completion, workforce relevance and economic mobility.

That includes regularly reviewing academic and workforce programs, strengthening programs that can perform better and strategically directing resources toward high-demand, high-wage fields where institutions can expand opportunity for students and respond to regional workforce needs.

"Access without completion and job placement is an unfinished promise, " Alston said. "Students are investing their time, money and trust in higher education institutions. They should be better off because they came to us. "

Alston also believes artificial intelligence and emerging technologies will play an increasingly important role in recruitment, student success, administrative efficiency, workforce forecasting and institutional decision-making.

At the same time, financial pressures require institutions to become more disciplined about how they allocate resources.

"You cannot cut your way to relevance, " Alston said. "Institutions have to continuously improve, invest strategically and make sure resources are aligned with the opportunities of tomorrow. "

Leadership Across Sectors

Before leading Broward College, Alston served as Executive Director and CEO of the Greater Miami Expressway Agency and Chief of Staff of the Florida Department of Transportation. His career has also included leadership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Broward County, the School Board of Broward County and other state and local government organizations.

A Broward County native and Blanche Ely High School graduate, Alston earned both a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), where he later served five years on the university 's Board of Trustees.

As he looks ahead, Alston plans to continue contributing to conversations about the future of higher education, workforce and economic mobility, artificial intelligence, governance, institutional effectiveness and public service.

"The institutions that thrive will not simply defend what higher education has always been, " Alston said. "They will have the courage to imagine what it needs to become for the students, employers and communities actually in front of us. "

About Torey Alston

Torey Alston is a higher education and public-sector executive with nearly two decades of leadership experience spanning higher education, transportation, K-12 education, state and local government, governance and organizational operations. Most recently, he served as the eighth President and CEO of Broward College from February 2025 through August 2026. His leadership interests include higher education transformation, workforce and economic mobility, institutional effectiveness, strategic resource allocation, technology modernization and public service.

Contact Information:
Email: info@toreyalston.com
Website: https://www.toreyalston.com/

SOURCE: Torey Alston

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