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Gary Livingston, Academy Coach

A district coach for the Washington State Leadership Academy, Dr. Gary A. Livingston recently retired as chancellor of Community Colleges of Spokane.

Livingston previously served in Spokane as superintendent of Spokane Public Schools from 1993 to 2001. In between SPS and CCS, he served one year as superintendent for Olympia-based Educational Service District 113.

Linvingston's career in education in 1970 as a special education teacher in the Topeka, Kansas, public school district. He became superintendent of the Topeka district in 1988 and served in that position for five years before moving to Spokane.

His bachelor's degree was completed in psychology/special education at Emporia State University in Kansas, and he earned his doctoral degree in administration from Kansas State University. In 1990, Livingston was selected Alumni Fellow for the College of Education.

A member and past president of the Washington Association of School Administrators, Livingston was recognized by WASA as State Superintendent of the Year in 1997. The following year, he was presented with the Washington Leadership in Education Award. In 2005, he was named Pacesetter of the year by the Community College National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 7. The Washington State Trustees Association (TACTC) selected him for the 2007 Award for Leadership.

In Washington, he was appointed by Governor Locke to two statewide committees—the Professional Educators’ Standards Board (2000-2002) and the State Accountability Task Force (1997–99). In Spokane, Livingston has served on the boards of United Way, Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, Spokane Regional Economic Development Council (chair 2005–06), Providence Health Care, Educational Service District 101, Spokane Mental Health, and the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.