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Education
Halifax Community College President Brings a Variety of Strengths to Office
Dr. Ervin Griffin is the new president of Halifax Community College.
It was a proud day in Ervin Griffin’s life when he became the first member of his family ever to graduate college.
His father labored in West Virginia’s coal mines‚ and his mother managed a household of nine children‚ but both of Griffin’s parents believed strongly in education.
Thanks in large part to their resolve‚ Griffin studied hard and ultimately became Dr. Griffin in 1980‚ when he earned his doctorate in education administration from Virginia Tech.
“I got a chance at education‚ and now I’m the president at Halifax Community College – I guess I’ve had a pretty good life‚” says Griffin‚ who took over the helm at HCC in 2006. “Now my main mission at HCC is for more area residents to become college graduates‚ thereby making this college even more meaningful to Roanoke Valley citizens than ever before.”
Griffin says the strengths he brings to the president’s office include experience in enrollment issues‚ college budgets‚ dealing with state legislatures and interacting with local companies.
“I have been in the community college system at some capacity since 1974‚ but I have also been a school teacher‚” he says. “My first job was teaching special education at the sixth-grade level‚ so I know what teachers face every day.”
Griffin says his teaching philosophy encompasses the idea that some of today’s students learn better through books‚ some learn better in a visual setting‚ while some like to work in groups.
“I want the HCC faculty to remember that some of our students today are older adults who might not have been successful in school as youngsters‚” he says. “That’s why I say there is no one best way to teach and get through to students. Teachers‚ professors and administrators have to be flexible in the way we do things nowadays.”
Griffin thinks the greatest strength of Halifax Community College is its faculty and staff.
“We don’t offer sports programs here‚ so the entire faculty is focused on helping students become academically successful‚” he says.
As for the future‚ one of Griffin’s goals is to work with new businesses moving into the valley. That includes The Randy Parton Theatre and the Carolina Crossroads Music & Entertainment District‚ and the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research in Northampton County.
“I want to see HCC add more programs that will lead students into good-paying‚ lifetime careers in‚ for example‚ the entertainment and automotive-technology fields‚” he says. “Students can do a lot with a college certificate or an associate’s degree these days‚ and Halifax Community College offers both in a variety of studies.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Ian Curcio
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