Contact: Melissa Reifert
April 27, 2007

Virginia Meador Receives 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy

Former Governor Gerald Baliles honored 23 outstanding benefactors of Virginia’s community colleges recently as recipients of the 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. Baliles saluted philanthropists from all over the Commonwealth, citing “their matchless passion for the mission of community colleges and their outstanding service in education on behalf of all Virginians.”

“To the extent that Virginians are hampered in pursuit of their education, we all lose,” said Baliles, adding that community colleges, along with all of higher education, have had to increasingly rely on support from foundations and philanthropic leaders.

Big Stone Gap’s Virginia Meador received the Leadership in Philanthropy award as a benefactor of Mountain Empire Community College. She also had named in her honor the “Virginia Meador Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship” at MECC.

Meador is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Women's College, a retired teacher, executive secretary, and business woman. She is currently a member of the Wise County Board of Supervisors, for which she has served 23 years, acting as Vice-Chairman for nine years. She has also been a member of the Wellmont Lonesome Pine Hospital Auxiliary for 34 years.

She was elected to the MECC Foundation Board of Directors in 1982, and has served continuously since that time. She is Chair of the Cultural & Humanities Committee, and has led that committee since its inception. Soon after joining the board, she created an endowed scholarship in memory of her late husband, Harry W. Meador, Jr., and continues to contribute to it annually.

She has also served on the boards of the Lenowisco Planning District Commission, Clinch Valley College (now The University of Virginia's College at Wise), the Virginia State Library, and several other civic and community organizations.

Virginia Community College Chancellor Glenn DuBois, in presenting the philanthropy awards to Meador and the other 22 recipients, said “These men and women have given so much to the schools that make up Virginia’s community college system. It’s an honor to recognize and thank them.”

After the awards were presented, Governor Baliles himself was surprised with the presentation of a Gerald L. Baliles Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship Endowment. More than $100,000 was raised to establish the endowment and was presented by the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education.

The Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy is designed to recognize the vital role of community college supporters. Individuals eligible for this annual award include current and former foundation board members, community volunteers, and benefactors. Each college foundation determines the criteria for the selection of the nominee. Above all, these individuals demonstrate a passion for the mission of community colleges—to ensure that deserving people receive the advantage of a college education.

Each philanthropy leader becomes the namesake for one of 23 Commonwealth Legacy Scholarships to be awarded to a student attending the community college in their region. Sallie Mae provided funds to sponsor those scholarships for 2007.

“The generosity of corporations like Sallie Mae means so much to our community colleges and the students we serve,” said Jennifer Sager, executive director of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education.

The honorees joined representatives and guests from each of the state’s community colleges for a luncheon at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. “These leaders know the secret to a better tomorrow,” said DuBois. “By their work with the VCCS, they’re improving their communities, the commonwealth and the nation.”

Created more than 40 years ago, Virginia’s Community Colleges are comprised of 23 community colleges located on 40 campuses across the commonwealth. Together, Virginia’s community colleges serve more than a quarter-million credit students each year. For more information, please visit myfuture.vccs.edu.

Glenn DuBois, Chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges, presented Big Stone Gap native Virginia Meador with the 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. She also had named in her honor the “Virginia Meador Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship” at MECC.

More Press Releases