Chancellor Baker Appoints Frazier Payne as Acting President at Coastal Alabama Community College

Alabama Community College System (ACCS) Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker announced today, Nov. 8, the appointment of Frazier Payne as Acting President at Coastal Alabama Community College. Payne currently serves as Special Assistant to the Chancellor at Bishop State Community College. 

Payne will serve after the retirement of Dr. Craig Pouncey, whose retirement was approved by the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees on Nov. 8. He served as the college’s president since 2019. 

“Each and every college in the Alabama Community College System serves a critical role in helping Alabamians, business and industry reach their greatest success, and I am confident that Frazier has what it takes to serve the Coastal Alabama community in such a way that continues to move to the college forward,” Baker said. 

A Shelton State Community College alum, Payne joined the Alabama Community College System in 2020 as a Regional External and Government Affairs Liaison. From there, he was appointed to serve as Special Assistant to the Chancellor at Bishop State Community College, where he implemented various improvements in programs and facilities, with a strategic focus on robust community engagement.  

Payne was instrumental in Bishop State starting the state’s first Aviation Manufacturing Technology program. This one-of-kind technical program is built to serve the growing workforce needs of the aviation manufacturing industry in the Mobile region. More than 200 new Airbus employees have been trained through Bishop State, with each student earning 18 hours of college credits upon completion of the program. Collectively, students have been awarded nearly 3,000 industry-recognized credentials.  

Prior to serving the Alabama Community College System, Frazier served the people of southwest Alabama by working for two members of Congress, then-Congressman Bradley Byrne and then-Congressman Jo Bonner. 

In addition to attending Shelton State on a golf scholarship, Payne earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Science from the University of Alabama. 

Payne’s tenure as Acting President at Coastal Alabama Community College begins Nov. 8.