Deborah M. DiCroce, a South Hampton Roads native and lifelong Virginian, has devoted her career to public service. A proven leader in forging partnerships for the public good, Dr. DiCroce has headed Tidewater Community College – the largest provider of undergraduate education in Hampton Roads – since May 1998, following nine years as president of Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville.

During her tenure, TCC has experienced ten consecutive years of enrollment increases, serving nearly 39,000 credit students in 2007-08. With continued growth driving record levels of expansion for TCC’s four campuses, Dr. DiCroce attributes the college’s success to “joining forces, leveraging assets, and combining efforts to achieve respective goals – in mutual service to our citizens.”

A strong advocate for education as the great equalizer, Dr. DiCroce’s work in expanding the reach of higher education across workforce, gender, racial, and cultural boundaries has been especially heralded. Recent recognitions include the Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Conference for Community and Justice (VCCJ) Humanitarian Award, a Women in Business Achievement Award from Inside Business, and a Woman of Distinction award from the YWCA of South Hampton Roads. She was named Downtowner of the Year in 2005 by the Downtown Norfolk Council and Woman of the Year by the Virginia Women’s Forum in 1993. Hampton Roads Magazine named Dr. DiCroce to its “A List of 50 Very Important People Shaping Life in Hampton Roads” in 2006. In 2005, Portfolio Weekly included her in its list of “100 Best People, Places, and Things in the 7 Cities.” Discover Portsmouth profiled her in its 2006-07 issue as a “living symbol of what is best about Portsmouth.” And Inside Business put her on its regional “power broker” list in 2000.

Dr. DiCroce has served on state-wide commissions and committees under five Virginia governors, including the Governor’s Commission on Educational Opportunity for All Virginians, the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Higher Education, and the Governor’s P-16 Council. 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.

Among recent community initiatives, Dr. DiCroce led TCC’s collaborative support for the premiere opera, Pocahontas, performed at TCC’s Roper Performing Arts Center in commemoration of the founding of Jamestown. In other efforts, she served on the city of Norfolk’s homeless commission; partnered with the Jewish Community Center in its annual film festivals; and marked the 50th anniversary of civil rights with a photographic mural of sit-ins at the former Woolworth’s building, now a part of TCC’s Norfolk Campus. She chaired the regional board of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce in 2006 and the United Way’s 2002 regional campaign.

Dr. DiCroce 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. She has been recognized as a distinguished alumna of both institutions, as well as of Norfolk Catholic High School. Retaining her faculty roots, she has held adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Virginia, The College of William and Mary, and Old Dominion University.

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