New leadership for Chancellor’s Faculty Advisory Committee

CFAC, the Chancellor's Faculty Advisory Committee, has new leadership. Longtime CFAC chair Charles Errico has been succeeded by Rachel Dodson. Dodson is professor of Business Management and Administration at Laurel Ridge Community College and notes the panel has a full slate of topics to consider, aimed at improving the lives of students and college faculty alike.

Reynolds Community College Information Systems Technology professor Dirk Burrus will serve as CFAC vice-chair.

CFAC is part of the VCCS governance structure. Our State Board created CFAC to be the primary vehicle to gather input from VCCS faculty on system-wide issues. CFAC serves in an advisory capacity to the Chancellor and convenes twice per year to discuss and make recommendations on a formal agenda set by the Chancellor in collaboration with the CFAC Chair.

After eight years as chair of the panel, Errico, a history professor at Northern Virginia Community College, says he's proud of the teamwork that the advisory committee established with the VCCS System Office. "I think we've made a real difference in policies regarding parental leave, student engagement hours, and phased retirement for faculty," said Errico, who will remain on the committee as NOVA's CFAC representative. "I've learned that it doesn't matter whether you're from a big college or a small one. We all think alike and we all have our students' best interests in mind."

"I want to thank Charlie for his support and for sharing his wealth of knowledge during our transition," said incoming CFAC chair Dodson. "We're already focused on issues including faculty evaluation plans, campus safety, intellectual property, freedom of expression, testing centers, system support for peer groups, professional development, and the VCCS 29," said Dodson. VCCS 29 is the advancement and promotion path for faculty members at our colleges.

Dodson said she encourages faculty with ideas or concerns to reach out to their CFAC representatives (listed below). "All of our CFAC reps are well-versed and able to provide feedback on the topics that we're discussing at our meetings with System Office leadership," she said.

Here's the roster of CFAC representatives for 2023-2024:

Blue Ridge: Alyssa Cruz - [email protected]

Brightpoint: Chris Pantazis - [email protected]

Camp: Laurel Brinkley - [email protected]

Central Virginia: Beth Shelton - [email protected]

Danville: David Balfour - [email protected]

Eastern Shore: Julie Nash - [email protected]

Germanna: Mirela Fetea - [email protected]

Laurel Ridge: Rachel Dodson - [email protected]

Mountain Empire: Terri Lane - [email protected]

Mountain Gateway: Rachael Thompson - [email protected]

New River: Megan Doney - [email protected]

Northern Virginia: Charles Errico - [email protected]

Patrick & Henry: Julie Meador - [email protected]

Piedmont Virginia: Joanna Vondrasek - [email protected]

Rappahannock: Cheryll Tassone - [email protected]

Reynolds: Sylvia Clay - [email protected]

Southside Virginia: Leslie Jackson - [email protected]

Southwest Virginia: Kim Smith - [email protected]

Tidewater: Tiffanye Sledge - [email protected]

Virginia Highlands: Ben Bullen - [email protected]

Virginia Peninsula: Patrick Smith - [email protected]

Virginia Western: Jeff Strom - [email protected]

Wytheville: Tracy McAfee - [email protected]

CODD Rep. to CFAC: Tiffany Randall - [email protected]

ASAC Rep. to CFAC: Molly Lynch - [email protected]

Workforce Rep. to CFAC: Jason Ferguson - [email protected]

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