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AHOSKIE – Dr. Murray Jean Williams has been officially named as the new president of Roanoke-Chowan Community College.

Williams was the choice among the college’s Board of Trustees after they hosted a public forum late last month among the two finalists for the job. However, the name of the favored candidate was kept under wraps until the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges met this month.

“The state board met on March 19 and approved our recommendation of Dr. Williams,” said Jeri Pierce, chair of the RCCC Board of Trustees.

Pierce added that Dr. Williams is expected to arrive on the RCCC campus in early May.

“We look forward to having Dr. Williams as our president,” Pierce said. “We were very impressed with Dr. Williams throughout the interview process. She was very passionate with about her possible leadership role here and about her vision to move our college forward. We as a board felt that she was the best option.”

The other finalist for the position was Dr. Dreand Johnson.

“We do appreciate what Dr. Johnson and the other applicants brought to the table. We were very pleased with the overall number of quality candidates that submitted an application and went through the interview process.”

At the outset of the presidential search process, Pierce said RCCC received 55 applications. The RCCC Trustees eventually narrowed the number of applicants to 12; then to four, and finally to Dr. Williams and Dr. Johnson.

In her most recent position, Dr. Williams served as the Vice President of Adult Education and Academic Support for Southern Crescent Technical College in Griffin, GA. She previously served as Vice President of Academic Affairs for Atlanta Technical College in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Williams earned a Doctor of Education and Education Specialist in Educational Leadership and Master of Business Administration from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA; a Master of Christian Education from Luther Rice University in Lithonia, GA; and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems from Delta State University in Cleveland, MS.

Dr. Williams will replace Dr. Deborah Lamm, the second interim RCCC president to serve following the resignation of Dr. Stanley Elliott in July of 2019.

Dr. Elliott served as RCCC president for nearly two years. Dr. Audre Levy was named interim president following Elliott’s departure. Levy left in June of last year and was followed in the interim role by Dr. Lamm.