VCCS senior vice chancellor to retire

Sharon Morrissey, Virginia Community College System’s senior vice chancellor for academic and workforce programs, will retire at the end of 2023, VCCS announced Monday.

Morrissey joined VCCS in 2014. She held leadership roles for multiple initiatives, including eliminating placement testing, providing expanded credit for prior learning for military veterans and creating the system’s Opportunity 2027 strategic plan.

“It’s an understatement to say that Dr. Morrissey has provided crucial and valuable guidance for our colleges over the years, including leading our institutions statewide as interim chancellor from last summer through March of this year,” Virginia Community College System Chancellor David Doré said in a statement.

Before joining VCCS, Morrissey worked in higher education in North Carolina for 28 years. She served as a faculty member, college vice president, college president and then executive vice president for programs and student services of the system within that state’s community college system

“I’m so grateful to have worked with the wonderful faculty and staff at Virginia’s community colleges,” Morrissey said in a statement. “Even in the most challenging times as we worked to manage the impact of COVID-19, I appreciated collaborating with dedicated and talented colleagues to ensure that students had access to the courses and services they needed. The pandemic even yielded some positive improvements in our enrollment policies, online student support services and expansion of distance learning opportunities.”