The new Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) visited Eastern Shore Community College on Wednesday, April 26,  as part of his state-wide listening tour at all 23 of the system’s colleges.

Dr. David Doré became Chancellor of the VCCS on April 1, 2023.  Dr. Doré is the tenth person to lead the system, which was founded in 1966.  He succeeded Dr. Sharon Morrissey, who served in the post on an interim basis since July 2022.  

In his new position, Dr. Doré provides day-to-day leadership for a system that serves more than 200,000 degree-seeking and workforce-career training students annually.   

Dr. Doré came to Virginia from Tucson, Arizona, where he served as President of Campuses and Executive Vice Chancellor at Pima Community College. There he led the College’s five campuses and workforce development initiatives, including the development of the College’s Centers of Excellence in response to the needs of Arizona’s workforce sectors.  

At ESCC Wednesday, Dr. Dore’ met with administration, faculty, staff, and community leaders while on the Melfa campus.  He commented on the challenges of small, rural colleges and how Eastern Shore Community College has overcome many of these in recent years.

Chancellor Dore’ promised to take back what he learned today to Richmond to help him further guide ESCC and other VCCS colleges to continue to adapt and meet the needs of students in the Commonwealth.

ESCC President Jim Shaeffer commented, “Dr. Dore’s visit today was a great opportunity to share our “YES!” culture with the new leadership in Richmond, and to showcase the growth and victories that ESCC has enjoyed, even through an extremely challenging period.  We were thankful to have such wonderful attendance from our ESCC team, Delegate Bloxom, Senator Lewis, members of our boards, and also our aerospace partners at NASA and Virginia Space. This has been a great day at ESCC.”