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The Bluefield College Board of Trustees met on campus, October 19-20, for an annual fall business meeting that included recognition for a longtime Board member, activity concerning the proposed dental school, and the election of new trustees.

Chris Shoemaker

November 9, 2012

The Board recognized departing trustee Jack Marcom for his longtime service to the group. Retiring from the Board after this fall’s session, Rev. Marcom has served as a trustee since 2003. During his nearly 10 years of service, Rev. Marcom served three years as secretary of the Board. He also served as a member of the Student Services and Enrollment Management committees.

A retired pastor from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Rev. Marcom brought more than 40 years of service as a minister and 30 years as a military chaplain to his Board work. A 1962 Bluefield College alumnus, he also served as chair of the Presidential Search Committee that called Dr. David Olive to serve as BC’s ninth president.

“Although I have been at Bluefield College only five years, I remember the first conversation I had with Jack Marcom by phone in December 2006 as he introduced himself as chair of the Presidential Search Committee,” said Dr. Olive. “He struck me then as an enthusiastic champion of the college’s mission, and he has proven himself authentic to that first impression as I have come to learn about and see demonstrated his love for BC.”

Rev. Marcom was also described as “a servant leader” and “a never-tiring cheerleader” during the Board’s recognition. In addition to his time and financial support, his service included recruiting students and trustees for BC.

Other fall business for the Board included discussion of the partnership with Tazewell County to create a new dental school for southwest Virginia. In September of 2012, the college announced plans to collaborate with the Tazewell County (VA) Board of Supervisors and the County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to build and open a dental school at the County’s new regional business and technology center, known as The Bluestone. Toward that end, during its fall meeting, the BC Board tabbed trustee Michael DuVal to chair a committee assigned with the task of recommending 10 prospects to serve on the dental school’s Board of Directors.

In other business, the Board approved increases in tuition for both traditional and inSPIRE adult degree completion students for the 2013-2014 academic year. Next fall, traditional students at BC will pay 5.4 percent more in tuition from $21,060 per year to $22,190 annually. Adult degree completion students will pay three 3.0 percent more from $335 per credit hour to $345 per credit. As approved by the Board, traditional students will also pay 3.1 percent more in room in board in 2013-2014 from $8,060 per year to $ 8,310 annually.

The Board also elected two new members for four-year terms: Dr. Charles Warren and Gordon Grimes. A retired college president who served as interim president of Bluefield College in 2006-2007, Dr. Warren holds more than 35 years of Christian higher education experience, including 14 years as a college president at Lynchburg (VA) College and the State University of New York (SUNY), where he also served five years as provost and vice president for academic affairs and three years as the dean of arts and sciences and a professor of biology. Dr. Warren’s higher education experience also includes 13 years with Southwestern College at Memphis (now Rhodes College) where he served as executive vice president, academic dean, chair of the Biology Department, and professor of biology.

Grimes, a 1994 graduate of Bluefield College, is a private financial advisor with SunTrust Investment Services in Raleigh, North Carolina. After BC, he studied financial planning at Duke (NC) University. In addition to his work, Grimes is an active member of Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, where he is a deacon and chair of the Stewardship, Audit, and Security committees.

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