Gateway Reporter

VCCS State Board Chair Douglas Garcia forms diverse transition team to help plan first few months for system’s new Chancellor David Doré

In early January, the State Board announced David Doré, EdD, will serve as the next Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System. With an impressive background, he comes to Virginia from Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. He currently serves as the President of Campuses and Executive Vice Chancellor for Student Experience & Workforce Development and will start as the new Chancellor of VCCS on April 1. 

In an effort to ensure a smooth and transparent transition, I have empaneled a transition team to advise and support our new Chancellor in accomplishing a strategic and effective chief executive transition to the Virginia Community College System.

Designed to get Dr. Doré set up for success and immersed in the needs of Virginia, a transition team has been organized to provide a thorough understanding of the Virginia Community College System, help accelerate his understanding, and foster communication throughout the process of this change in leadership.

As part of their responsibilities, the team will engage in producing a transition and onboarding plan to help identify, prioritize, facilitate, and assist Chancellor Doré’s understanding of key and relevant aspects of the 

structure and function of the VCCS. I’ve instructed the transition team to:

• Develop and adopt a timeline of activities, engagements, and meetings for Chancellor Doré to interact with both internal and external constituencies
• Introduce Chancellor Doré to partners and stakeholders
• Plan a listening tour for Dr. Doré to meet the communities we serve and the people who deliver our mission, while collecting multiple perspectives and ideas
• Organize sessions for Chancellor Doré to learn more about our programs, operations, and initiatives
• Create a futures report with data about emerging issues and demographics potentially impacting the VCCS

The core transition team is a diverse group representing the colleges and students. The team is co-chaired by Peggy Layne, Vice Chair of the State Board for Community Colleges and Dr. Craig Herndon, Sr. Vice Chancellor for Administration, Finance, and Technology, and is comprised of the following members:

• Latesha Washington, student, Rappahannock Community College
• Rachel Dodson, assistant professor, Laurel Ridge Community College
• Anne Kress, president, Northern Virginia Community College
• Tommy Wright, president, Southwest Virginia Community College
• Cornelius Johnson, vice president of Academic and Student Affairs, Danville Community College
• Lisa Ridpath, vice president for Administration and Finance, Virginia Western Community College
• Terricita Sass, vice president, Enrollment Management and Student Success, Reynolds Community College
• Jennifer Gentry, vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement
• Will Johnson, associate vice chancellor for Finance
• Susan Pollard, assistant vice chancellor for Strategic Communications
• Randy Stamper, associate vice chancellor for Career Education and Workforce Development

Incoming Chancellor David Doré also will be advised by an equally diverse set of community, business, and philanthropic leaders from across Virginia, who will act as consultants to his transition team.

It’s an exciting time for VCCS and I want to make every effort to help ensure that we position Dr. Doré, the community college system, and the communities we serve for success. Therefore, your guidance on who Dr. David Doré should meet as he becomes acquainted with Virginia is welcome.

You can share those ideas with the transition team by emailing TransitionTeam@vccs.edu.

As the team moves forward, regular reports will be provided to the State Board and updates will be shared via the Community College Connections newsletter.

Original source can be found here