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GCC taps Florida educator

After long search, Germanna Community College has a new president, David Sam, who will succeed Frank Turnage in March.

By NATASHA ALTAMIRANO

Date published: 12/16/2006

By NATASHA ALTAMIRANO

By NATASHA ALTAMIRANO

David A. Sam of Pace, Fla., will be the next president of Germanna Community College.

"I'm very pleased to announce that we have found a top-performing community college leader to take the helm at Germanna Community College," Virginia Community College System Chancellor Glenn DuBois said in a statement released yesterday.

Sam, vice president for academic affairs at Pensacola Junior College in Florida, will succeed Germanna President Frank Turnage in early March. Turnage is retiring after 20 years.

Sam said the Fredericksburg area's booming population and resulting educational needs drew him to Germanna.

"Germanna has doubled in size in last 10 years, and it looks like there's lots of opportunities to grow in the next 10 years or more," Sam, 56, said in a telephone interview from Florida yesterday. "The school has a good reputation of providing service and quality. It's an opportunity to help make a difference in the seven-county area."

Sam said he discussed the offer with his wife, Linda, a teacher.

"My wife is a part of this decision, and she loved the Fredericksburg area," he said. "When I visited Virginia, I found it to be, of course, a beautiful state, but also one of the places with the friendliest people."

At a forum with Germanna faculty and staff last week, Sam said he envisions community colleges as an "open door" for the underserved--students held back by families, economic circumstances and other factors.

He cited experience partnering with the faith-based community to boost minority enrollment when he worked at a community college in Michigan.

Pensacola Junior College and the University of West Florida have a joint nursing program, he said.

"Considering that the needs and the demands will be high, and the resources are not always high, it just makes sense to look for partnerships," Sam said. "Together, you can often do more than you can separately."

To reach NATASHA ALTAMIRANO:540/368-5036
Email: naltamirano@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 12/16/2006