Dr. Sharon Morrissey came to the Virginia Community College System in 2014. For the past several years, she has served as Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Workforce Programs, where she was responsible for state-level coordination of workforce education and college transfer programs, instructional and student support services, research and reporting, federal program administration, and related policy development for Virginia’s 23 community colleges.  Dr. Morrissey led initiatives to increase student success outcomes across the VCCS, including transfer program realignment to support mapped pathways; direct enrollment with co-requisite learning supports; stackable workforce credentials; credit for prior learning; dual enrollment redesign; and systemwide enterprise technology solutions to support student success. Dr. Morrissey co-chaired the VCCS strategic planning task force, which developed Opportunity 2027, a six-year plan to achieve equity in access, learning, and success for students from every race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic group.

Prior to joining the VCCS, Dr. Morrissey had a 26-year higher education career in North Carolina, where she served as the Executive Vice President for Programs and Chief Academic Officer for the North Carolina Community College System.  Dr. Morrissey also served as President of Richmond Community College, Vice President for Instruction at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, and Vice President for Academic and Student Services at Fayetteville Technical Community College.  She began her community college career as an English instructor at Central Carolina Community College.

Dr. Morrissey earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s in English and Education from Western Carolina University, and a doctorate in Education from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Morrissey serves on the boards of the Community College Research Center, the National Student Clearinghouse, and the Online Virginia Network.  She is an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Education Leadership, Policy & Human Development at North Carolina State University.