Dr. Tristan Denley recognized by higher education reform nonprofit for transformational impact on student success and college completion.
INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 19, 2024) — Complete College America (CCA), a national nonprofit on a mission to raise postsecondary attainment in the United States, announced today that the pioneering higher education policymaker and student success expert Dr. Tristan Denley is the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Stan Jones Legacy Award. Renowned for his contributions to the national conversation related to student success and general education, Denley’s efforts to increase student success and college completion have focused on using a unique combination of evidence-based policy and systems redesign to eliminate barriers to student success and completion.
“From his early leadership in math pathways and developmental education reform to the development of the ‘Momentum Year’ initiative, Dr. Denley has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to opportunity, innovation, and measurable outcomes for students, especially those from underserved backgrounds,” said Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America “He truly embodies the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and a hard-nosed focus on data—each of which has been at the core of our movement. For these reasons, he is deserving of this award by every measure.”
The Stan Jones Legacy Award, established in 2016 to honor Complete College America’s (CCA) founder and first president, recognizes individuals, organizations, or states that exemplify CCA’s commitment to equity, completion, and innovation in higher education. Previous recipients include the University of Hawai’i System, Allen Maxwell, Dr. Lawrence G. Abele, Dr. Estela Mara Bensimon, and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, all of whom have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing college completion and equitable outcomes for students.
Currently, Denley serves as the deputy commissioner for academic affairs and innovation at the Louisiana Board of Regents, a position he has held since 2022. In this role, he continues to drive systemic reforms aimed at enhancing student success and closing equity gaps across Louisiana’s higher education institutions. Prior to his tenure in Louisiana, he was the executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at the University System of Georgia from 2017 to 2021. During this period, he led the implementation of the “Momentum Year” initiative, which provided structured academic pathways to support student success.
Through multiple leadership roles in four states Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and Louisiana and a long-running collaboration with Complete College America, Denley has been instrumental in scaling key strategies that drive student success, particularly in developmental education reform. A sought-after national speaker, his expertise has helped bring national attention to the power of corequisite support and the importance of using data to reform academic policy and practice and today serves as a Complete College America fellow.
From 2013 to 2017, Denley served as vice chancellor for academic affairs at the Tennessee Board of Regents, where he led developmental education reforms, including the corequisite remediation model, enabling students to take credit-bearing courses with added support. Previously, as provost at Austin Peay State University (2009–2013), he developed Degree Compass, a predictive analytics tool that guided students to courses where they were most likely to succeed.
“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from Complete College America, an organization that has consistently pushed higher education forward through its unwavering focus on championing evidence based strategies to improve college completion,” said Denley. “Our work in higher education reform has been driven by the belief that every student, regardless of background, should have a clear path to success. This award is a testament not just to the efforts of a single state or group of leaders, but the collective efforts of our movement that changed the odds for countless students.”
Originally from Penzance, England, Dr. Denley earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Cambridge. He began his academic career in the United States at the University of Mississippi, where he served as chair of mathematics and senior fellow of the Residential College program.
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About Complete College America: Complete College America (CCA) builds movements for scaled change and transforms institutions through data-driven policies, student-centered perspectives, and equity-driven practices. Since its founding in 2009, CCA connects a national network of forward-thinking state and higher education leaders and introduces bold initiatives to help states and institutions confront inequities, close institutional performance gaps, and increase college completion rates, especially for marginalized and historically excluded students. For more information, visit www.completecollege.org.
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