The Virginia House of Delegates is considering considering a bill which would sever the College of William and Mary Board of Visitors’ control of Richard Bland College and create an independent, 12-person board to govern the junior college. The Board has been planning the separation since 2014 and the bill is amicable on both sides.
Richard Bland College hopes that an independent Board of Visitors will propel the junior college to success comparable to Christopher Newport University and Old Dominion University, universities that also began as parts of the College system and later gained independence.
The separation would have little effect on the day-to-day workings of the junior college, and the transfer program with the College would likely continue uninterrupted according to President of Richard Bland College Debbie Sydow.
“I would put it like this: if you’re thinking about it as an equation… it’s an add-on. There’s nothing we’re missing, if that makes sense,” Sydow said.
Delegates Emily M. Brewer, Carrie E. Coyner and Kim A. Taylor introduced HB 1415 on Jan. 11. State Sen. Frank Ruff Jr. introduced SB 1077, a Senate version of the bill, on the same day.
“The Board of Visitors of William and Mary fully supports the formation of an independent board to address the needs of Richard Bland College,” Chair of the Richard Bland College Committee John P. Rathbone P ’02 said.
“The Board of Visitors of William and Mary fully supports the formation of an independent board to address the needs of Richard Bland College,” Chair of the Richard Bland College Committee John P. Rathbone P ’02 said.
While the Senate bill unanimously passed in the full chamber on Feb. 6, the House bill was not given a vote in the Appropriations Committee. The Senate bill has crossed over to the House side and was referred to the Committee on Education.
“Although it’s not exactly clear why the bill was passed by [in the House], efforts are underway to work with the Appropriations Chair to answer any additional questions that may remain on the House side,” Richard Bland College Director of Special Projects and Operations Jeff Brown said during the Richard Bland College Committee meeting of the BOV on Feb. 8.
At the BOV’s Nov. 2022 meeting, members passed a resolution endorsing an independent governance structure for RBC.
“The Board of Visitors of William and Mary fully supports the formation of an independent board to address the needs of Richard Bland College,” Chair of the Richard Bland College Committee John P. Rathbone P ’02 said. “RBC is on the cusp of being an economic development engine for the Gateway Region of Virginia and needs its own board to focus on the important issues facing the unique needs of a residential junior college.”
The College’s Director of News and Media Suzanne Clavet explained that the transfer program between the College and RBC would continue without effect.
“W&M has guaranteed admission agreements with all of Virginia’s public two-year institutions and the university would continue to welcome RBC students to W&M,” Clavet wrote to The Flat Hat in an email.
Sen. Monty Mason ’89, a sponsor of SB 1077, assuaged concerns that the bill would lead to increased costs for the state and highlighted promising innovation on the RBC campus.
“There’s no necessary [additional] money in the budget because we already have an established structure and we just want them to have their own board and their own autonomy,” Mason said. “I think there has been some difficulty on the House side, maybe with concern about more cost because they’re independent. We don’t believe that to be the case. We believe with the DroneUp opportunities that are there with some of the programs that they’ve put in place with their residential, beautiful campus, that the time is right for them to go on their own. And they’ve earned it. We worked together for a lot of years. And we in the Senate unanimously believe that the time is now.”
The current General Assembly session will adjourn on Feb. 25. If SB 1077 passes the House by then and is signed into law by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, RBC will have a full independent board by July 1.
CORRECTION (2/15/23): Article was updated by Standards and Practice Editor (Sarah Lynn Devendorf) to change the first sentence to “The Virginia House of Delegates is considering…” instead of “The Senate of Virginia is considering…”