PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia State University’s interim president, Dr. Pamela V. Hammond, has announced she will not return to her interim role as president after December 31st.
Dr. Hammond was brought on as the interim president on January 1, 2014, after the previous president, Dr. Keith Miller, resigned. Dr. Miller’s last official day was December 31, 2014.
In the school’s 134 year history, Dr. Hammond was the first female president and there was much excitement that even as an interim, she would bring in a new wave of change.
“I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to the Board for placing its trust in me to provide the leadership for this venerable institution of higher learning,” Dr. Hammond wrote in a statement. “I will be eternally grateful for the wonderful memories of my 12-month tenure at Virginia State University.”
No specific reasons were given for Dr. Hammond’s impending departure, but in an interview with 8News Anchor Ava-joye Burnett, the rector of the Board of Visitors, Harry Black, said, “Dr . Hammond has elected not to {renew her contract} , she is interested in pursuing other opportunities. She has done a great job for the one year she served as the interim president. We are very thankful and appreciative for her service and her contributions to the university, which have made a difference.”
Dr. Hammond started her tenure as interim president after a tumultuous period at the University. Enrollment at the University was declining and the school had a $19 million deficit. Once Dr. Hammond came aboard, many students were excited for the wave of change.
“I was shocked, because I thought she was here with us for the long run. She was involved, she was at everyone’s events,” says Gerard Pickett, a VSU senior.
“It kind of surprised me that she decided not to take the job, but I can also understand because coming into the situation that she came into, it had to be an up-hill battle somewhere,” says Lamarcus Wise, a VSU senior.
In January of 2015, the University hired the Isaacson Miller firm to search for a president for the university. Dr. Hammond was long considered to be part of that pool.
Rector Black says the firm’s duties will continue. Rector Black says the short list of candidates is very strong.
“We have established a short list of candidates who will be interviewed between now and mid November with the intent of recommending a finalist for board approval at our November board meeting,” says Rector Black.
In the mean-time, an interim president will be named during the transition period. Rector Black would not give specific details about an interim president, stating that the process is confidential.
Dr. Hammond had a salary of $275,000 but because she is leaving at the end of her contract, she will not receive a severance.
