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Education 2025: DORÉ, DAVID
When Doré became the 10th chancellor of the Virginia Community College System in 2023, he started his tenure by traveling 3,600 miles in 36 days on a listening tour across the state. Doré oversees 23 colleges with 40 campuses and more than 232,000 students. The former president of Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, replaced […]
Education 2025: RAO, MICHAEL
After a bumpy year for Rao and VCU in 2024 — first an ongoing dispute over VCU Health paying $73 million to exit a redevelopment project, followed in the spring by a violent clash between VCU police and pro-Palestinian protesters — the Richmond-based school had some good news. The school announced plans to convert the […]
Education 2025: MAHONEY, PAUL G.
A former dean of the University of Virginia School of Law and a longtime faculty member, Mahoney was named in August as the university’s interim leader. He will serve until U.Va.’s board can find a permanent replacement for former leader Jim Ryan, who resigned as head of the state’s flagship university under pressure from the […]
Education 2025: ADAMS-GASTON, JAVAUNE
Under Adams-Gaston’s leadership since 2019, Norfolk State has racked up achievements ranging from regularly ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 20 historically Black colleges and universities to attaining a 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The public university attracted big-dollar donation[...]
Education 2025: PAINO, TROY D.
In 2024, UMW introduced three new majors (applied mathematics and statistics, data science as well as management and entrepreneurship) and three new minors (disability studies, global history and professional writing). The school also signed a partnership with the University of Virginia, streamlining the admissions process for UMW accounting majors who meet qualifications. Paino received the [&hel[...]
Education 2025: KELLY, REAR ADM. WILLIAM G. (U.S. COAST GUARD, RET.)
After nearly four decades of service in the U.S. Coast Guard, Kelly became CNU’s sixth president in 2023. Founded in 1960 as Christopher Newport College, a two-year branch of William & Mary, CNU is a four-year public university with about 5,000 students. The new Science and Engineering Research Center is under construction and expected to […]
Education 2025: GUIDERA, AIMEE ROGSTAD
In 2021, Guidera was the first state secretary appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a signal of the importance he placed on the post. A proponent of charter schools and parental involvement in education, Guidera is responsible for leading the state’s public schools and has significant influence on postsecondary institutions, including the Virginia Community College System. […]
Education 2025: HEMPHILL, BRIAN O.
Old Dominion merged with Eastern Virginia Medical School in July 2024 to form the largest suite of health care programs in state higher education, with 56 academic programs. Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University received a $20 million gift from Joan Brock and another $20 million gift from Dennis and […]
Education 2025: ROBERTSON, GORDON P.
Robertson became chancellor of the private, conservative Christian university in 2023 following the death at age 93 of his famous and controversial father, Pat Robertson, who founded the school in 1977. Gordon Robertson had succeeded his father in 2007 as president and CEO of Christian Broadcasting Network and host of its flagship weekday news magazine […]
Education 2025: COLLINS, LANCE R.
Collins came to Virginia from Cornell University in August 2020 to build Virginia Tech’s $1 billion Innovation Campus and aid the commonwealth’s efforts to close a regional tech talent gap. The first academic building on the Alexandria campus opened earlier this year, but computer science and engineering students started classes in temporary quarters in 2021. […]
Education 2025: ABDULLAH, MAKOLA M.
A scan of Abdullah’s accomplishments since joining the public, historically Black university in 2016 makes clear why his résumé includes so many accolades, prestigious board appointments and spots on top 10 and “best of” lists — not to mention a multimillion-dollar contract to stay on as president through 2029. Under his leadership, VSU has seen […]
Education 2025: WILLIAMS, LT. GEN. DARRELL K. (U.S. ARMY, RET.)
Williams served more than 37 years in the U.S. military and in 2022 became president of Hampton University, a private, historically Black university founded in 1868 — and Williams’ alma mater. A retired Army lieutenant general, Williams was the first Black director of the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency, where he oversaw nine supply […]
