Wytheville Community College (WCC) recently presented Dr. Charlie White, former WCC President, with the title of President Emeritus.
Wytheville Community College (WCC) recently presented Dr. Charlie White, former WCC President, with the title of President Emeritus. Earlier this year, the WCC Board submitted a nomination to the State Board for Community Colleges to bestow the title of President Emeritus on White. The board approved the nomination, and White was recognized at the State Board meeting in March.
A college Emeritus recognition honors retired personnel who have provided ten or more years of outstanding, distinguished, and honorable service to the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) in positions of substantial leadership including the role of president.
Dr. White earned an Associate’s Degree from Hiwassee College in 1962, a Bachelor’s Degree in 1964, and a Master’s Degree in 1966 from East Tennessee State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in 1971.
With a long history of service to the VCCS, Dr. White began his career as a Biology faculty member in 1971 at New River Community College and culminated with his Presidency at WCC from 2006 to 2015. Throughout his career spanning nearly five decades, Dr. White served in numerous roles, including Professor, Division Chair, Assistant Dean, Vice President for Instruction and Student Services, Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Services and Research, President, and most recently Interim President.
As President of WCC from 2006 to 2015, Dr. White guided the college during record enrollment growth while also maintaining the highest academic standards and carefully managing fiscal resources. WCC also achieved national and state recognitions under his leadership. This included the college being named among the top 120 community colleges by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program in 2011. WCC was also consistently listed in the top 20 most affordable community colleges by the United States Department of Education from 2011 to 2015. He assisted with the successful completion of WCC’s first Capital Campaign and led the college’s 50th Anniversary campaign. Both campaigns increased scholarship funds and endowments managed by the WCC Educational Foundation and WCC Scholarship Foundation. Dr. White oversaw numerous renovation and construction projects which improved facilities available to students and to the community including the WCC Walking Trail, Chitwood Nursing Lab, Simulation Lab, Snyder Auditorium, and Johnson Lobby.
As one of 19 children in his family who was raised in far Southwest Virginia where his father worked as a coal miner, Dr. White knows first-hand the value of higher education and regularly encourages people to pursue it. Throughout his tenure at WCC, he was committed to strengthening relationships between WCC and the region’s public school systems.
Even as President, Dr. White could not resist the call of teaching and often returned to the classroom to teach a Human Biology class. He truly enjoyed interacting with students and mentored many who are still in contact with him today.
Dr. White supported existing special community-focused activities at the college and initiated the WCC Bluegrass and Old-Time Jamboree, which was named a stop on The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, and is still held today. Not only was Dr. White committed to the college, but he was also an active member of the community. He accepted leadership roles in the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce, the Wytheville Rotary Club, and the Wytheville Lions Club.
In recognition of his many extraordinary accomplishments, Dr. White received WCC’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018.
After his retirement from WCC, Dr. White was called to serve as Interim President not once, but twice. He served in that capacity from January 2017 to July 2017 at New River Community College and again at Virginia Highlands Community College from October 2018 to January 2020.
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Photo: Dr. Dean Sprinkle, WCC President and Dr. Charlie White, WCC President Emeritus