Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Members of the Â鶹ӰÊÓ Community:

On behalf of my colleagues on the Â鶹ӰÊÓ Board of Trustees, I write to report important news for the College and all who care about our mission to serve the education and job training needs of residents of Â鶹ӰÊÓ and Orange County and to provide the employers of this dynamic region with a talented workforce. At its meeting last week, the Trustees voted unanimously to extend the employment contract of President J.B. Buxton until August 2026.

This extension of President Buxton’s contract reflects the Trustees’ considerable confidence in his leadership and follows a review of his performance as the College’s leader in the first two years of his presidency. Equally important, this four-year extension also ensures we will continue to benefit from his dynamic leadership through the life of the ambitious Â鶹ӰÊÓ Strategic Plan and the construction cycle for some $123m in major new and expanded facilities at our Â鶹ӰÊÓ and Orange County campuses, including plans for new, high-quality training hubs for major regional industries in health care and the life sciences in the November 2022 Â鶹ӰÊÓ County bond referendum, as well as for the skilled trades and information technology.

When the Trustees appointed President Buxton in 2020, we asked him to build on Â鶹ӰÊÓ’s impressive record of accomplishment in its two-year transfer programs with local universities and the College’s unswerving commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.  We also asked him to develop stronger partnerships with industries that provide the good jobs that make our communities so attractive and drive our regional economy, strengthen working relations with the County Commissions in Â鶹ӰÊÓ and Orange County, and increase collaborative efforts with sister schools in the North Carolina Community College System. That he, the leadership team he has assembled, and the faculty and staff of the College have accomplished so much during a period of unprecedented disruption caused by COVID is a testament to his leadership and commitment to the values that characterize Â鶹ӰÊÓ. 

We know there are many challenges, financial and otherwise, to be addressed in the next several years for all community colleges. We are confident that under President Buxton’s leadership, Â鶹ӰÊÓ will meet these challenges with the same thoughtful and strategic approaches that have characterized the first two years of his presidency. We are thankful to President Buxton for his agreement to continue to provide his exceptional leadership for at least another four years.

Finally, as we begin another academic year, my Trustee colleagues and I particularly want to thank the members of the Â鶹ӰÊÓ faculty and staff whose work in support of our students is at the core of all we do as a community.   

Sincerely,   
John F. Burness 
Chair, Board of Trustees

"I am thankful to the Â鶹ӰÊÓ Board of Trustees for the opportunity to continue to serve our students and community and to work with an extremely talented group of faculty, staff, and administrators. Â鶹ӰÊÓ has big goals for increasing student success, economic development, and the quality of life in Â鶹ӰÊÓ and Orange County and I am excited for the years ahead." 
-- JB Buxton