After several years of seeking its own governance system, Richard Bland College may finally have the leverage it needs to separate from its parent institution, the College of William & Mary.
An anomaly in Virginia higher education, the public two-year college is not currently a member of the Virginia Community College System. Instead, it has been governed by a committee of the William & Mary Board of Visitors. But that is likely to change in the months to come.
In a memo submitted to Governor Glenn Youngkin on Thursday afternoon, the state’s secretary of education, Aimee Rogstad Guidera, recommended that the General Assembly establish a new, independent governing body for Richard Bland—at least temporarily.
The memo also analyzed two other proposed paths forward: fully merging the two-year campus with a public four-year institution under a single administration and governing board, or integrating Richard Bland into the state’s existing community college system.
All three options “present substantial potential benefits and similarly substantial potential drawbacks,” according to the memo, leaving “no clear front-runner.”
As a result, Guidera concluded that “additional diligence must be done” to evaluate the best path forward. In the meantime, however, she suggests establishing an independent board.
“The status quo is not working,” she wrote. “A no-regrets move for the immediate-term seems to be to name a new Board.”
Now, it is up to the General Assembly to decide whether or not to act upon the secretary’s recommendations with legislation.
