Dabney S. Lancaster Community College to change name

Dabney S. Lancaster supported segregation. That discovery has lead to the fcollowing in the press release.

DSLCC Board Votes in Favor of Name Change_REVISED

Following a unanimous vote by the Local Board on June 21, Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (DSLCC) will no longer use the name of the former Superintendent of Public Instruction for Virginia, following the recent discovery of new information regarding Dr. Lancaster’s history.

During its regularly scheduled meeting on June 21, the DSLCC Local Board unanimously voted to recommend the renaming of the community college to the state system. The State Board will meet on July 21, 2021, to accept the Local Board’s recommendation. The college will use its tagline “We are more than a community college, we are the Community’s College” in lieu of the former DSLCC name, where appropriate.

The college will follow a guided and diligent process to rename the college which could entail community surveys, faculty and staff input and feedback from students as well. It will be the top priority of the college to navigate through this process as efficiently and effectively as possible to ensure that the new name of the college follows the state board guidelines:

The new policy on college naming states that institutions’ names “should reflect the values of inclusive and accessible education articulated in the VCCS mission statement, with special emphasis on diversity, equity, and opportunity, and be relevant to the students it seeks to serve and to the geography of its service region.”

Dr. John Rainone, DSLCC’s president and secretary of the Local Board, said the college has already initiated the process of putting together a task force of people from the college and from the community to recommend a new name. It is currently unclear what the cost to the college will be and if the state will assist with paying for the effort.

“There is an opportunity to build a new community college moving forward for the next 60 years,” said Dr. Rainone.

In July 2020, Virginia’s State Board for Community Colleges passed a resolution recommending that the local boards review the appropriateness of the names of their colleges, campuses, and facilities and to report their findings and recommendations by no later than June 2021. Initially, DSLCC rejected the recommendation, but in light of new information, DSLCC’s Local Board reconsidered.

The board held a discussion about the name change and invited public comment as well. Following a brief discussion from the Local Board, it unanimously agreed that it would no longer use Dr. Lancaster’s name.

“His contributions to our public schooling were many, but we cannot deny that he was in favor of segregation in schools or this new information.” said board member Marylin Alexander.

Rev. William Hartsfield said he would vote in favor of the name change due to the State Board making a second recommendation to the college to change its name and enacting a policy that college name should be that encourages diversity, equity and inclusion.

“I understand that we have control of the names of buildings, it’s up to the state to change the name of the college” said board member Rev. Hartsfield.

The college will be celebrating its 60th anniversary this summer, giving the college the opportunity to honor its past while pushing for a brighter future that is in line with the current institutional and state goals, said Dr. Rainone.

College officials expect to have the new name selected by October 2021, with the goal of presenting to the State Board for approval in November.

For more information about the decision to rename the college, visit dslcc.edu/renaming.

R. James Cook, Ed.D., CFRE

Executive Director of Educational Foundation

Director of Institutional Advancement