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By Mike Larose
Community College Times

Rep. Virginia Foxx loves community colleges and served as president of Mayland Community College in North Carolina before being recruited to run for the state senate in 1994. Last year, Foxx won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving North Carolina’s 5th District.

“I do have a strong allegiance to the community colleges,” said the Republican congresswoman. “I feel very deeply that the community colleges have done a good job in this country and haven’t always been appreciated.”

Foxx was president of Mayland Community College from 1987 to 1994, when she won a seat on the state senate, where she served for 10 years.
“I loved being in a community college, but I was recruited to run [for] the legislature,” she said.

After five terms, she was recruited again, this time to run for Congress. She was probably the most experienced state legislator at that time, she said, but didn’t feel it would be an easy victory.

“It was a real gamble for me—I had the most legislative experience, but didn’t have the most money,” Foxx said.

Now that the 109th Congress is in full swing, Foxx says her top priority is giving her constituents the best representation possible. She has been appointed to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Government Reform.

Her seat on Education and the Workforce puts her in position to influence legislation such as the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
“I hope that my background as an educator and community college president will help me on the committee,” she said.

Community colleges in the 5th District are extremely important to the population, she added, because many people who have lost jobs are seeking retraining. Community colleges can help people gain new skills, she said.
“I was bothered as a community college president that many community colleges were sort of apologists for being there – that always bothered me that somehow or another they weren’t as good as universities,” Foxx said.

But Foxx had some advice for community colleges about workforce training.
“I believe the community colleges would do well to stop using the term ‘training’ and start using the term ‘education,’ she said. People are educated, not trained, she said.

Foxx is optimistic about the future for community colleges under President Bush. “I think the president has shown that he understands the importance of community colleges, and that’s a good sign,” she said.

Joining the ranks of lawmakers on Capitol Hill has been “exciting” but “very humbling,” she said. Foxx, 61, grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, with no electricity or running water until she was 14. A community college would have been a good option for her had any been in her area at the time, she said.

Foxx went on to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in sociology. In 1985 she earned a doctorate in education at UNC-Greensboro.

Foxx began her career as a secretary and research assistant at UNC-Chapel Hill. She taught at Caldwell Community College, was a sociology instructor at Appalachian State University and held several administrative positions at there, including assistant dean of the General College. Foxx also served as deputy secretary for management in the North Carolina Department of Administration before being selected as president of Mayland.