Virginia community college system gets new chancellor

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An experienced higher education executive from Arizona has been tapped to lead Virginia’s system of 23 community colleges after a lengthy search.

The State Board for Community Colleges hired David Doré to serve as the next chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, according to a news release issued Wednesday.

Doré currently serves as president of campuses and executive vice chancellor for student experience and workforce development at Pima Community College in Tucson. He holds multiple advanced degrees, including a doctor of education from Pepperdine University, and is in his 27th year serving community college students, according to the news release. He’s previously worked as an instructor, director, department chair, dean and president.

Doré is expected to start the job in Richmond on April 1. He will succeed Sharon Morrissey, who has served as interim chancellor since July 2022.

His selection comes after a search that was restarted last summer, after Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin objected to the initial hiring process.

The state board initially announced last March that it had hired a Michigan community college executive, Russell Kavalhuna, over Youngkin’s concerns about the process. Then in June, the community college system announced Kavalhuna would no longer be taking the job and said it was restarting the search for a chancellor.

“I look forward to working with Chancellor Doré to advance our mission of every high school graduate in Virginia being equipped with a credential in an in-demand industry and to ensure that the Virginia Community College System becomes a best-in-class national leader,” Youngkin said in a statement Wednesday.