-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College
Dr. Stelfanie Williams, Vance-Granville Community College’s president, was recognized on July 16 for her honor as the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges President of the Year for 2018.
Jim Rose, vice chair of the State Board, presented Dr. Williams with a plaque at a dinner held in the Civic Center on Main Campus prior to the regular bimonthly meeting of the VGCC Board of Trustees.
“I’m here to celebrate Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of the college here and the President of the Year for all 58 community colleges,” said Rose. “We had a grueling and tough interview process that you go through” to be selected as the President of the Year, he added. “Dr. Williams really took our committee by storm and it was an easy choice for us to make.”
Jim Rose, vice chair of the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges, left, presents the State Board’s President of the Year Award to Dr. Stelfanie Williams, Vance-Granville Community College’s president, at a dinner on July 16 in the Civic Center on the Main Campus. (VGCC Photo)
Appointed by the governor to the State Board, Rose chaired the special committee to select the 2018 award recipients. He is regional president for the Raleigh market at United Community Bank, serving on the finance, legislative and policy committees of the 21-member board.
“I think about Dr. Williams as a lifter of people,” he said. “I believe the administration that she has built here and the culture that she has built here is one of lifting up people.”
He cited several accomplishments of Dr. Williams during her tenure at Vance-Granville, among them unprecedented grant funding, development of career training programs in Advanced Manufacturing, the increase in the use of technology for online instruction, accelerated College Transfer opportunities, and the nationally recognized VanGuarantee need-based scholarship program.
“This is truly an honor, and I thank you, Mr. Rose, and the State Board for selecting me and recognizing the great work taking place at Vance-Granville Community College,” Dr. Williams said. “I know that you all do a lot of work leading and supporting the great 58 community college institutions. We appreciate that. I’m really glad to work at the greatest institution out of the 58.
“As I think about the Trustees (of Vance-Granville) and look around the room and see the wonderful leadership and support you provide, this truly is a great institution, a great place to learn and to work. And I’m grateful to each and every one of you for your support and your guidance over these years as we have led and served together.”
Dr. Williams was joined at the dinner by members of her family, Trustees who are currently serving on the board, former Trustees who served during her tenure, and the spouses of Trustees.
Dr. Williams has announced she is taking the position of Vice President for Durham Affairs at Duke University, effective Aug. 13. “Dr. Williams has laid a great foundation for us to continue to go forward with, and we’ll certainly miss her,” said VGCC Board of Trustees Chair Danny W. Wright, who thanked Rose and others for their attendance.