SANFORD - Dr. Stelfanie Williams, Central Carolina Community College vice president of Economic and Community Development, has been tapped by Vance-Granville Community College to be its next president.

The VGCC Board of Trustees voted Nov. 21 to offer the position to Williams, one of 42 applicants for the presidency from around the nation. The State Board of Community Colleges is expected to approve the VGCC board's decision at its Dec. 8 meeting.

Williams will assume the presidency on Feb. 1. Her last day at CCCC will be Jan. 31. She will be the first African-American president of VGCC and the first woman to hold that position on a permanent basis.

"Vance-Granville Community College is a remarkable institution with a demonstrated commitment to student success," Williams said. "I am exceedingly delighted about serving as its next president, but after my years at Central Carolina Community College, I will no doubt miss my colleagues, associates, and friends from CCCC and this community."

VGCC's former president, Dr. Randy Parker, left in August to become president of Guilford Technical Community College. Dr. Angela Ballantine, VGCC's vice president of Instruction, has served as interim president since Sept. 1.

Vance-Granville, headquartered in Henderson, N.C., is a multi-campus, multi-county community college similar to Central Carolina Community College. VGCC provides educational opportunities to the residents of Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties through four campuses. It serves about 17,000 curriculum and continuing education students.

Williams was born in New York, but grew up in Sanford. She graduated from Asheville School, a boarding school. She earned bachelor's degrees in Public Policy and Spanish from Duke University, an M.B.A. in Project Management from Western Carolina University, and her Doctor of Education in Adult and Higher Education from North Carolina State University.

Williams first came to CCCC in 1998 as a Basic Skills instructor, then served as the Basic Skills Distance Education coordinator. In 2004, she became director of Basic Skills as well as manager of the college's Siler City Center. In 2006-2007, she served as the college's director of Continuing Education in Chatham County.

Williams moved to Sandhills Community College in 2007-2008, where she served as dean of Continuing Education. She returned to Sanford in 2008 as CCCC's dean of Continuing Education. In 2009, she was named the college's vice president for Economic and Community Development, a new position. Williams was the first African-American woman to hold a vice president's position at the college.

"CCCC has been extremely fortunate to have a person of Dr. Williams' leadership, experience and background," said college President Bud Marchant. "We wish her the best in this major career move and know she will lead Vance-Granville to become an even greater institution."

Williams has been a leader not only at CCCC, but also in the North Carolina Community College System. In 2011, she was among those selected to represented North Carolina at a White House Regional Community College Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2010, she was a member of the NCCCS's Innovative Ideas Committee for the SuccessNC planning initiative. She has served on the executive boards of the N.C. Economic & Workforce Development Leadership Committee and the N.C. Community College Adult Educators Association.

Williams' organizational memberships include Women Administrators in North Carolina Higher Education, North Carolina Adult Education Association, American Association of Women in Community Colleges, and the National Council on Black American Affairs.

She and her husband, Keith Williams, a Sanford business owner, have three children.

"We are pleased that Dr. Williams is going to bring her leadership abilities and passion for education to Vance-Granville," VGCC Board of Trustees chairman Donald Seifert Sr., said in the announcement on VGCC's web site (www.vgcc.edu). "Her experience, energy and commitment to innovation make her an outstanding choice for our college as we seek to build upon our tradition of excellence and continuously improve the way we provide quality education and training to our four-county service area."