The Dabney S. Lancaster Community College Renaming Task Force will recommend their pick for the College’s new name during the DSLCC Local Board’s regular meeting on Monday, October 18. The meeting begins at 4:30 pm in Moomaw Center on the Clifton Forge campus. The public is invited to attend.
Three names are in the running: Headwaters Community College, Mountain Gateway Community College, and Mountain River Community College. Assuming approval, the State Board for Community Colleges will consider the name at its meeting in November.
“The proposed names follow a common naming pattern for community colleges in Virginia with many having links to their local geography,” said DSLCC President Dr. John Rainone. He explained that input from the community centered around the beauty of the natural surroundings for which the DSLCC service region is known.
The college, like the other 22 in the Virginia Community College System, had been directed last summer by the Virginia State Board for Community Colleges to review its name, as well as those of all its named facilities. In June 2021, DSLCC's College Board voted unanimously to recommend renaming the college, which was founded in 1962.
Following the College Board’s decision, students, staff, alumni and members of the community were encouraged to submit possible names for consideration; more than 430 did so, and the Renaming Task Force worked to narrow the final choices to three. A second community preference survey was administered on the final three names. Over 720 surveys were received.
The community college’s main campus is in Clifton Forge, with a satellite center in Buena Vista and serves seven communities including the cities of Covington, Buena Vista, and Lexington, and the counties of Alleghany, northern Botetourt, Bath, and Rockbridge. The college serves about 1,500 students annually in accredited programs along with more than 500 people enrolled in industry and business development classes.