Shirley R. Pippins

2000 Honoree

Serving as the fifth president of Thomas Nelson Community College is wonderful. But being the first woman and the first African-American to lead the college in its 30-year history is terrific. Meet the wonderful and terrific Dr. Shirley R. Pippins.

Dr. Pippins, a native of East Chicago, Indiana, came to Thomas Nelson Community College in February 1995 from Valhalla, New York. There, she was a vice president of Westchester Community College and dean of community services, adult and continuing education.

With a doctorate from Columbia University, master's degrees from the University of Illinois and New York's Manhattanville College, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, the mother of three is well-equipped to lead Thomas Nelson Community College, which she describes as "the Virginia Peninsula's cornerstone of people and economic development," into the next century.

With more than 24 years of leadership, management, consulting, teaching and faculty development experience, the college president's service has taken her to South Africa, where she worked for the United States Information Agency as an academic specialist in 1991. Her charge was a familiar one: to assist educators in exploring alternative models of higher education, including community college.

Since taking the helm of Thomas Nelson Community College, Dr. Pippins has embraced the Virginia Peninsula community, and it has welcomed her. She serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Peninsula Board of the National Conference for Community and Justice-Virginia Region, United Way, and the Greater Peninsula National Organization for Women.

One of Virginia's leading educators shares this message with Virginia's leading students: "Keep your support systems in place to assist you in achieving your dreams; give back to those persons, neighborhoods and institutions that helped you achieve your dreams; keep learning for a lifetime; establish and maintain a clear set of values; make excellence your personal standard in all that you do; and establish a clear vision, belief system and mission to serve as your personal compass throughout your life."