VCCS Chancellor David Doré and college faculty representatives say they count on open and candid communications to address the challenges facing Virginia’s Community Colleges and are looking for continued success in 2026.
Dr. Doré meets at least twice a year with the Chancellor’s Faculty Advisory Committee (CFAC), made up of representatives chosen by their colleges and designated by the VCCS State Board to be the primary vehicle for the administration to gather input from faculty on a system-wide basis.
CFAC met at the VCCS System Office on October 31. Pictured above (l to r), CFAC Chair Dirk Burrus (Reynolds), VCCS Chancellor David Doré, and CFAC Vice-Chair Chris Pantazis (Brightpoint).
“It’s so important for me to hear from people who are in the classroom. These are some of the most valuable conversations I have,” said Dr. Doré, who served as a full-time faculty member at the community college, university and secondary levels for twenty years prior to his administrative leadership career.
“As a former teacher myself, I understand how important it is to have planned and intentional conversations about the major issues our frontline teachers are dealing with, such as the impact of Artificial Intelligence on teaching and learning, the growing complexity of faculty responsibilities, compliance and workload issues.”
“VCCS leadership has been open to our ideas and they’re direct and forthcoming in our discussions. We can have frank and direct discussions with leadership and that’s a good thing,” said CFAC Chair Dirk Burrus. Dr. Burrus is Professor of Information Systems Technology at Reynolds Community College and was elected to chair CFAC last summer.
“CFAC gives the full-time and adjunct faculty a voice at the system level, a chance to provide our input on issues that affect all of us. Having open lines of communication helps people work to solve problems. We believe ‘participatory governance’ promotes a culture that benefits our system, our colleges and our students,” said Burrus.
He said 2026 will see continued discussions focusing on VCCS faculty hiring and promotion policies, faculty responsibilities and work profile expectations, and, of course, AI.
“Our CFAC representatives want to hear from their colleagues, they actively reach out to faculty members, faculty senates, faculty caucuses,” Burrus added. CFAC’s next meeting is scheduled for April 2-3 at the VCCS System Office in Richmond.
Caption: The Chancellor’s Faculty Advisory Committee is seen here when the panel met with VCCS Chancellor David Doré at the VCCS System Office on October 31. (Seated left to right:) Kim Smith-Southwest Virginia, Cheryll Tassone-Rappahannock(outgoing), David Balfour- Danville, Chris Pantazis-Brightpoint & CFAC Vice Chair, David Doré–VCCS Chancellor, Dirk Burrus-Reynolds & CFAC Chair, Julie Nash-Eastern Shore & CFAC Recorder, Anne Allison- Piedmont Virginia, Karen Neal-Reynolds, Susan Greer-Eastern Shore. (Standing left to right:) Alicia Tucker-Northern Virginia, Julie Eng-Paul D Camp, Neil Mairs-Germanna, Derek Bryant-Mountain Empire, Shashuna Gray-Germanna & ASAC Rep, Ronnie Wray-Patrick and Henry, Patrick Smith-Virginia Peninsula, Ivan Guajardo-Virginia Western, Samuel Chukwuemeka-Blue Ridge, Tracy McAfee-Wytheville, Jason Ferguson- Central Virginia & Workforce Rep, Sharon Edwards-New River & CFAC Alternate, Tamra Lipscomb-Mountain Gateway, Kerrigan Sullivan-Brightpoint, Lisa Kara-Laurel Ridge, Tiffany Randall-Brightpoint & CODD Rep, Leslie Jackson-Southside Virginia, Tiffanye Sledge- Tidewater. (Not Pictured:) Beth Shelton-Central Virginia, Megan Doney-New River, Ben Bullen-Virginia Highlands, Rebecca White-Rappahannock.
CFAC members for 2025-2026
Officers
CFAC Chair – Dirk Burrus – Reynolds dburrus@reynolds.edu
CFAC Vice-Chair – Chris Pantazis – Brightpoint cpantazis@brightpoint.edu
CFAC Recorder – Julie Nash – Eastern Shore jnash@es.vccs.edu
Past Chair – Open
College Reps
Blue Ridge – Samuel Chukwuemeka chukwuemekas@brcc.edu
Brightpoint – Kerrigan Sullivan ksullivan@brightpoint.edu
Central Virginia – Beth Shelton sheltone@centralvirginia.edu
Danville – David Balfour david.balfour@danville.edu
Eastern Shore – Susan Greer sgreer@es.vccs.edu
Germanna – Neil Mairs nmairs@germanna.edu
Laurel Ridge – Lisa Kara kara@laurelridge.edu
Mountain Empire – Derek Bryant dbryant@mecc.edu
Mountain Gateway – Tamra Lipscomb tlipscomb@mgcc.edu
New River – Megan Doney mdoney@nr.edu
Northern Virginia – Alicia Tucker atucker@nvcc.edu
Patrick & Henry – Ronnie Wray rwray@patrickhenry.edu
Paul D Camp – Julie Eng jeng@pdc.edu
Piedmont Virginia – Anne Allison aallison@pvcc.edu
Rappahannock – Cheryll Tassone ctassone@rappahannock.edu
Reynolds – Karen Neal kneal@reynolds.edu
Southside Virginia – Leslie Jackson leslie.jackson@southside.edu
Southwest Virginia – Kim Smith kim.smith@sw.edu
Tidewater – Tiffanye Sledge tsledge@tcc.edu
Virginia Peninsula – Patrick Smith smithp@vpcc.edu
Virginia Highlands – Ben Bullen bbullen@vhcc.edu
Virginia Western – Ivan Guajardo iguajardo@virginiawestern.edu
Wytheville – Tracy McAfee tmcafee@wcc.vccs.edu
Council of Deans and Directors – Tiffany Randall trandall@brightpoint.edu
Academic and Student Affairs Council – Shashuna Gray sgray@germanna.edu
Workforce Development Advisory Council – Jason Ferguson fergusonj@centralvirginia.edu
