Budgets, Boards and Breaches and a Few Reminders, Too

August 29, 2023 / Tuesday Topics

Today’s topic contains a few updates and reminders on items of interest. 

First, the updates:

Virginia Budget
Late last week, the Senate and House of Delegates announced an agreement on the delayed 2023-24 Virginia State Budget. While information on the tax implications of the deal have been widely shared, other details of the agreement—including those on higher education funding—have not yet been released. I anticipate that we will have a fuller picture this week or next, and I will share information of interest for our NOVA community once it becomes available.

NOVA Local Advisory Board
At the September meeting, NOVA will welcome two new members to our Local Advisory Board. Buddy Rizer, executive director for the Department of Loudoun County Economic Development, has been appointed to represent that county. Mr. Rizer has a long association with NOVA and is the immediate-past chair of the NOVA Educational Foundation. Diana Brown has been appointed to represent Manassas City on the Board. She is a lifelong educator, having held positions as a teacher, teacher specialist and assistant principal. Ms. Brown is currently an Early Childhood Educational Specialist in FCPS. NOVA extends our deepest appreciation to departing board members and Chair-emeriti Rick Pearson (Loudoun) and Zuzana Steen (Manassas City) for their exemplary service and commitment to our college and our students.

International MOVEit Data Breach
This summer, I wrote to share information about an international cybersecurity incident involving a third-party file transfer software tool called MOVEit Transfer. As a reminder, the incident did not impact VCCS directly but did impact several third-party vendors that contract with the community college system. One of them, the National Student Clearinghouse recently notified VCCS that no student personal identifying information was compromised in the breach, which is very good news.

Second, three quick reminders:

  • This Friday, September 1, is the last day to sign-up for a reading circle for Geoffrey Cohen’s Belonging. There’s been strong interest so far, and I hope even more of you will consider joining. After Friday’s deadline, my office will order the books and send notices about reading circle assignments.
  • This year, I’ll again be visiting campuses; my goal is to be on each campus with an open agenda at least twice a semester. You can have a voice in shaping my itinerary while on your campus: please share your thoughts, suggestions and requests with your provost.
  • I’m also continuing the President’s Monthly Office Hour Zooms. The first faculty-staff Zoom of the academic year is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19 at 3 p.m. (The student Zoom is Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m.) The Daily Flyer will always include a call for anonymous questions in advance of each zoom, and as before, you are invited to ask questions live during the office hour via chat. These zooms are recorded and posted to the President’s NOVAnet intranet site in case your schedule doesn’t permit your participation.