Clifton Forge, VA (June 21, 2021) - The local board of Dabney S. Lancaster Community College took an historic vote this afternoon - to start the process of renaming the institution.
In a unanimous vote, the board reversed its earlier (Dec. 2020) vote not to change the college's name.
With new information now available about the associations, educational stances and positions of Dabney S. Lancaster, it was clear that many were racist in nature and board members who had voted "no" in the first tally, all changed their positions today.
DSLCC President John Rainone made two principal points today:
• the renaming process would begin in earnest soon with a name being selected by October. He indicated that he believed that the community should be involved in that naming decision
• in answer to a question from board member Rusty Ford about the financial impact of a name change, Rainone's best guess was from $200,000-$300,000, but he also said that it could be even more. (He noted that one other Virginia community college spent $800,000 on that process.)
Dr. Sandra McHenry, an associate professor at DSLCC was the only speaker at today's public session. She presented some facts that clearly associated Lancaster with racist positions that were incompatible with the institution.
The Journal will have some video of the session coming up later.
|  | DSLCC Board Member Marilyn Alexander
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