Sylvia Cox installed as first female president of Rockingham Community College, pledges workforce focus

Dr. Sylvia Cox joined the Chamber's 100th-episode program as a featured guest and described her early months as the first woman to serve as president of Rockingham Community College.

Cox said she deliberately sought a college that reflected and served its home community and described a strong early impression that RCC was "home." She told the audience the college will lean into workforce development: "We've got apprenticeships ... internships ... pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship," she said, adding that such partnerships can link students to local employers and make the county more attractive to industry.

Cox credited a quarter-cent sales-tax investment that funded the college building and called that capital a foundation for training workers in health care, advanced manufacturing and construction. "The building is just the beginning of building a workforce and to build what, what we need to not just make that college important," she said, adding that the college's mission is to support Rockingham County's economic vitality.

She stressed community presence as a strategy: increased early-college and CTE (career and technical education) engagement, more internships and industry listening to align curricula to employer needs. Cox said she wants Rockingham Community College to be seen as "the North Star, the glue of this whole community" and to deepen collaborations that keep graduates living and working locally.

The interview focused on goals and partnerships rather than budget detail or program timetables; Cox invited ongoing engagement with local employers and community leaders.