New River Community College President Pat Huber presents a college pennant to Del. Jed Arnold during NRCC’s visit to the General Assembly on January 17. Other VCCS colleges also will travel to Richmond to meet with their lawmakers before the legislative session ends March 9.
Armed with updated fact sheets, good cheer, and powerful stories about lives that have been changed for the better, faculty, staff and students from Virginia’s Community Colleges are visiting Virginia lawmakers during their General Assembly session in Richmond. For some, the trek to the State Capitol makes for a long, long day. The goal is to convince lawmakers to support our colleges as we seek the resources to train more Virginians for productive careers.
Our system is asking this winter’s session of the legislature to invest an additional $198.3 million dollars in the VCCS in the next two-year budget cycle (beginning next July). With the additional funds, we will train nearly 20,000 additional people for high-demand jobs, aligned directly with regional workforce demand, between FY27 and FY31. There’s tremendous industry need for skilled talent in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, skilled trades, transportation, energy, and information technology.
“We’re in frequent contact with lawmakers, of course, but it really makes a difference when people from our colleges meet face-to-face with their senators and delegates,” said Dr. Ellen Davenport, VCCS Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Government Relations.
New this year, the VCCS is able to share the results of an Economic Impact Study which puts numbers behind the argument that our community colleges benefit the people of Virginia. The study also underscores the point that investments in our community colleges consistently yield positive returns for students, for taxpayers and for our greater society. You can read the news release.
To help colleges make their point, the VCCS System Office also produced concise fact sheets to share with busy lawmakers:
Initial response has been positive on both sides of the aisle. House of Delegates Speaker, Democrat Don Scott, and Republican Governor
Glenn Youngkin were both on hand at the VCCS’s legislative reception January 23 and both expressed strong general support for Virginia’s Community Colleges.
Governor Youngkin, a self-described “ardent supporter” of the VCCS, posed with community college Fellows from across Virginia during the legislative reception, which was sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education.
House Speaker Scott, photographed with Latitia McCane of Newport News Shipbuilding (left) and TCC President Marcia Conston, told the VCCS legislative reception, “Community colleges are the gateway to a better life.”
It’s important to remember that the job of crafting Virginia’s next budget is the responsibility of legislative money committees, and they won’t reveal their plans for several weeks. This year’s General Assembly is scheduled to run until March 9. Between now and then, lawmakers from all parts of Virginia can expect to receive plenty of visits from our colleges.
