Dr. Laura J. Treanor was inaugurated as Virginia Western Community College’s fifth president in an investiture ceremony at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke on Friday, September 25, at 10 a.m.
“Virginia Western is in very good hands,” said Dr. Beth A. Quinn, Chair of the Local Advisory Board, who presided.
Dr. Treanor has served as College president since July 1, 2025. In her inaugural address, Dr. Treanor shared a framework for the College to embrace innovation and offer opportunity for a student population with a wide range of backgrounds, ages, and unique challenges to overcome. “Each of us is entrusted with something that can create possibility for someone else,” she said. “And I have come to believe that leadership, at its very best, is the stewardship of that opportunity.”
Before joining Virginia Western, Dr. Treanor served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Instructional Services at Vincennes University. Earlier, she held senior academic leadership roles at Baker College and faculty appointments at Roanoke College, West Virginia University, and Barton College. She holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree from The Ohio State University.
Friday’s ceremony began with a procession of delegates from more than 30 Virginia colleges and universities, as well as Virginia Western faculty and administrators.
Speakers from the campus community and beyond included David Dantzler, Chair of the Virginia Western Educational Foundation Scholarship & Foundation Grants Committee; Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb; Hagar Atef Youssef, Virginia Western Class of 2026 and current student at Radford University; Anna Goltz, Corporate Training Administrative Assistant and Chair of Staff Senate; Dr. Jordan Tucker, Program Head and Professor for the Physical Therapist Assistant Program, and Chair of Administrative Faculty Senate; and Jenifer Kurtz, Program Head for General Studies, Associate Professor of English, and Past President of Faculty Senate.
Dr. Charles R. Johnson, President of Vincennes University, shared reflections on Dr. Treanor’s leadership from her time at the Indiana institution. “Courage, honesty, and a commitment to quality,” he said to describe her key qualities. “When I think about them together, I see that they are really the ways her commitment to growth shows up in practice. Growth for her institution, growth for the people around her, and growth for herself.”
Her selection as president followed a rigorous, nationwide search process that attracted 61 candidates, Dr. David Doré, Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, noted in his address.
“Virginia Western has gained a highly engaged and collaborative leader. Over this past year, this campus and community have experienced a president who is visible, approachable, and student-centered. She has built momentum while reinforcing a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability,” Dr. Doré said, before he administered the oath of office and presented Dr. Treanor with the Presidential Medallion.
Her father, Richard C. “Dick” Treanor, shared personal reflections in his introduction to her inaugural address. He advised her to pursue business or engineering as she prepared to enter college, he said. “But she knew the direction she wanted her life to take,” and she firmly told him she wanted to go into education. “Throughout her career, Laura has never lost sight of what she learned long ago: Education transforms lives, strengthens communities, and prepares students for meaningful futures,” he said.
He and Dr. Treanor both recalled how supporters led him to become a first-generation college graduate from the Naval Academy. Years later in her mother’s memory, their family would establish the Sheila J. O’Donnell-Treanor Memorial Scholarship, which now helps Virginia Western nursing students overcome unexpected financial challenges.
During her speech, Dr. Treanor explained the philosophy behind VIBE — Visionary Innovation and Bold Engagement. “Now, I realize that “vibe” may not be the first word you expect to hear in a presidential address,” she noted. But rather than another initiative, VIBE is an approach to the College’s work.
“As we look ahead, the question is: What opportunity can we create from here?” she asked. “And just as important, for whom?” Dr. Treanor encouraged everyone to “become the next person who opens a door.”
Exhorting those present to be the person to say, “I believe in you,” she thanked all those who had shown that support to her, with special gratitude to her husband, Brian.
Prior to Friday’s investiture ceremony, the campus community celebrated events throughout the week, including a presidential portrait unveiling and College history display; ceremonial tree planting; ice cream social and treats for day and evening students; student painting of kindness rocks; and a campus party in honor of Dr. Treanor and Virginia Western’s 60th anniversary.
