Local lawmakers oppose LFCC name change
State Board official responds, supporting college’s decision
Last Friday, seven members of the Virginia General Assembly representing Rappahannock and its neighbors wrote a letter to the Virginia Board for Community Colleges opposing the recent decision to change the name of Lord Fairfax Community College.
Signed by senators Mark Obenshain, R-26th, and Jill Vogel, R-27th, along with delegates Todd Gilbert, R-15th, Michael Webert, R-18th, David LaRock, R-33rd, Bill Wiley, R-29th, and Mark Cole, R-88th, the letter urged the State Board for Community
Colleges “not to act” on the name change.
The lawmakers wrote: “Instead, we ask that you recognize the overwhelming opposition from the communities served by LFCC who share a deep connection to the institution and loyalty to its identity.
“We share in the opposition to the decision and are saddened by the LFCC Advisory Board’s
lack of consideration of community stakeholders’ input, for whom such a decision requires consultation. Further, the allocation of such significant financial resources for changes to the
college name reflects poor stewardship at a time when resources should be spent to advance the needs of community college students. We hope that the board will act in the interest of students consistent with our constituents’ overwhelming desire to support the mission of LFCC and preserve the current institution as it is known in the region.”
In a statement to the Rappahannock News on Tuesday, VCCS Assistant Vice Chancellor of Strategic Communications Jeff Kraus intimated that the letter will have little effect on the state board’s decision.
“We believe in the research and hard work that LFCC performed during their evaluation and know that their local college advisory board would have never made its recommendation without a thorough consideration of the perspectives of their community stakeholders,” Kraus said.
In an earlier conversation, Kraus said that he was surprised by the “amount of Tory sentiment” in the region in response to the college’s decision to change the name.
Chris Coutts, Provost of LFCC’s Fauquier Campus, noted that apart from opposition by residents of Rappahannock County, the reaction to the name change from the regional community has been widely positive.
“We certainly take [the opposition] seriously and want to look at it,” Coutts continued, “but we’ve also received tremendous support from folks in Rappahannock County who have written [that they] support what we’re doing … it’s an important debate.”
LFCC maintains that the college will spend the next few months “searching for a name that will move us forward and stand the test of time, one that will serve as a welcoming beacon to all students, a name for which we can feel pride.” The college is assembling a taskforce of stakeholders such as students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and board members to find a new name by the summer of 2021. The college estimates the name change could cost close to $300,000.