Albert L. Lorenzo

Albert L. Lorenzo, PhD is President Emeritus of Macomb Community College and was serving as an executive-in-residence at Oakland University when Mark Hackel asked him to join his staff as Deputy County Executive in 2011.

Al began his career in public accounting and then joined the faculty of Macomb College as an Assistant Professor. He later served as the college’s Business Manager, Controller, and Vice President for Business. He was appointed president of the College in 1979 and served in that position for 29 years.

Al has shaped educational, workforce, and economic development policies on the local, state and national level. He has extensive experience in organizational policy and governance and has served on numerous professional, civic and corporate boards including the Henry Ford Health System, Huntington Banks of Michigan, the Detroit Zoo, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Michigan Education Trust, and the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He received Commission appointments from three Michigan Governors and served a four-year term on the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. He currently chairs the Board of Henry Ford Macomb Hospital.

Al grew up in Detroit and studied finance and management while in college, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s in business administration, and a doctorate in administration. He has taught in the fields of accounting and management and has lectured at more than a dozen universities around the country. His pragmatic approaches to leadership, planning, and organizational development have been the focus of numerous publications and national speaking engagements. He has contributed to more than three-dozen books and monographs and has authored several articles for national journals. He was the driving force behind the development of the nation’s first university center on a community college campus, which now enrolls over 3,500 students and includes a branch campus of a Big Ten University medical school.

His many civic and professional contributions have brought him national recognition, including fourteen major leadership awards and two Honorary Doctoral degrees. His honors include the national Tom Peters Leadership Award, the March of Dimes Citizen of the Year award, and being named President of the Year by three national associations. He received the Inclusion Award for his work in promoting diversity, a Lifetime Achievement Award in Education, and the Patenge Medal for Public Service from Michigan State University. Upon his retirement from the presidency, Macomb’s Board of Trustees named the College’s highly acclaimed Cultural Center in his honor (Lorenzoculturalcenter.com).

Al and his wife Katherine, a professor emeritus of psychology, live in Clinton Township and both are actively involved in civic and volunteer programs. They have four children and eight grandchildren. Katherine currently chairs the Board of Trustees of Macomb College.