Monday, October 14, 2024

VPCC Appoints Alexander Division Dean

Michelle Alexander (VPCC)

HAMPTON — Virginia Peninsula Community College announced Michelle Alexander as dean of the Public Safety, Allied Health, and Human Services (PSAHHS) division at the college.

While teaching and her students are passions for the 14 year faculty member, Alexander had been thinking about the next step in her career, Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC) said, adding while she won’t be teaching, students still will be a big part of her responsibilities.

“I feel like it’s the time in my career to transition to taking (my) skills and helping to develop a new crop of faculty,” Alexander said.

Since being hired by VPCC as a faculty member in Health, Physical Education and Wellness in 2010, Alexander has often ventured outside the classroom for leadership opportunities, it said.

“I feel like being in this leadership role opens up some possibilities for me to be a part of initiatives and opportunities on campus that I don’t necessarily get the opportunity when I’m in the classroom,” she said, noting it was hard to give up teaching. “But I felt the way I’ve developed my career over the last few years, it was time for me to use those strengths in a different way on campus.”

Kerry Ragno, VPCC’s vice president for Academic Affairs, said there was no doubt Alexander is perfect for the position.

“As was evident during the interview process, Dean Alexander is committed to meeting the needs of faculty and students in her division and throughout the college, while maintaining and developing community partnerships,” Ragno wrote in an email to the college staff. “Her focus on academic excellence, collaborative leadership, and effective communication were assets during her tenure as interim dean last spring, and I am confident that they will continue to be so.”

Alexander, who is from Chesapeake and lives in Williamsburg with her husband and their three children, earned a bachelor’s degree in health science from James Madison University and a master’s in public health from the University of South Carolina.

Named the interim dean in February, Alexander’s first official day as dean was June 25.

The interim role provided her with the chance to see how things work from a different perspective, VPCC said, and first on her to-do list is what she was doing in that role.

“And that’s to continue to work with our amazing faculty to set our goals for the future for the programs, to ensure that we are paying attention to enrollment, just really learning a little bit more about the different pieces and parts of campus,” Alexander said.

While she might return to the classroom in the future, other than finishing some summer classes, she said she won’t be teaching, and while it’s a big change, she can’t wait for the next semester to start.

“I’m really excited … and honored to be given this opportunity,” Alexander said. “I’m really looking forward to when our faculty are back on campus in August to really get things going.”

For more information on VPCC, visit vpcc.edu.

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