Deborah M. DiCroce assumed the presidency of Tidewater Community College on May 15, 1998.

Dr. DiCroce previously served for nine years as president of Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville. She began her career as a faculty member in English at TCC in 1976. She has 30 years of experience in higher education spanning both teaching and administrative roles. She holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Virginia, The College of William and Mary, and Old Dominion University.

Dr. DiCroce’s expertise in the areas of community college education, leadership, institutional planning and effectiveness, restructuring, and workforce development have made her a much sought-after speaker at state and national forums. She contributes regularly to both scholarly and popular publications, writing on topics ranging from “Women and the Community College Presidency” to “Partnership for Regional Economic Vitality.” A strong advocate for education as the great equalizer, Dr. DiCroce’s work in expanding the reach of higher education to minorities and women has been especially heralded. She has also earned national recognition for framing the multiple connections among the multiple realities of partnership as a key operating principle for higher education in the new millennium. Her work in effecting a strategic relationship with area business and industry to produce a world-class workforce is often cited as a benchmark in the field.

Dr. DiCroce has served on statewide commissions and committees under four Virginia governors, including the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Higher Education and the Governor’s Commission on Educational Opportunity for All Virginians. She was

vice chair of the Governor’s Advocacy Council for Workforce 2000. She is a past Trustee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and served on the Board of Visitors of the Community College of the Air Force. She is a past chair of the Presidents Academy of the American Association of Community Colleges. In 1995, Dr. DiCroce was invited as one of twenty college and university presidents nationally to meet with the President of the United States at the White House for a discussion on higher education.

Over the years, Dr. DiCroce has been quite active in community life. She presently serves on the executive committees of the governing boards for the Hampton Roads Partnership, the Greater Norfolk Corporation, and the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce of which she is the Immediate Past Chair. She chaired the United Way’s 2002 regional campaign. She was recently elected to the Board of Trustees for Sentara Healthcare and sits on the City of Norfolk’s Commission to End Homelessness. She serves as a director for the Urban League of Hampton Roads, the Downtown Norfolk Council, and the South Hampton Roads Early Childhood Initiative.

A native Virginian, Dr. DiCroce was named the 1993 “Woman of the Year” by the Virginia Women’s Forum and, in 2004, a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA of South Hampton Roads. She was the first woman invited to membership in both the Rotary Club of Portsmouth and the Rotary Club of Charlottesville, and was made an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Portsmouth following her return to TCC. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Old Dominion University and a doctorate in Higher Education from The College of William and Mary.

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