DUBLIN – Bladen Community College Trustee Dennis Troy has been elected to the Board of the Association of Community College Trustees at the national level.
Previously, Troy served for three years on the national organization’s board of directors for the Southern Region, and on the ACCT Executive Committee. A 20-year member of the Bladen Community College Board, Troy is currently serving his third term as chairman. He is an advocate for the college and its mission.
“Community colleges play a major role in educating and training the workforce and that role will only grow in the coming years,” stated Troy. “This position gives me an opportunity on a broader scale to know the needs of students and opportunities available to them to get on the right track to earn an education and gain employment afterward.”
Troy has long been an advocate for programs to help minority students be successful and reach their potential.
“When I was invited to speak after being elected to the Executive Committee, I was asked to tell them something about BCC that is innovative and significant,” he said. “I told them about our Minority Male Mentoring program that is designed to reach out to African American males to help them be successful while in school, therefore keeping them in school to graduate. Not many schools across the nation have such a program and it is vitally important to the future of these young men.”
BCC president William Findt remarked that Troy’s dedication to student learning will be an asset to the national board.
“The board is fortunate to have a member who brings a strong record of service to his community and to this college,” Findt said.
The ACCT’s stated mission is to foster greater understanding of and appreciation for community college boards, support boards in their efforts to develop public policies focusing on meeting community needs, help build board governance
leadership and advocacy capacity through in-service education and training programs, and support boards through specialized services and programs.
An East Arcadia native and graduate of East Arcadia High School, Troy attended Cape Fear Community College, where he earned a diploma in machining. Soon afterward he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as a medical corpsman on flying status. Later, he graduated from Fayetteville State University with a bachelor’s of science degree in sociology and a minor in criminal justice.
Troy also took special education courses from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with the intent of pursuing a career in education. While in college he worked part-time with the U.S. Postal Service.
After teaching for several years including a period at Bladen Community College, he was hired full-time by the Postal Service in 1983. Two years later he was promoted to postmaster, a position he held until his retirement.
Troy says his philosophy of life is simple. “God first, and then education.”
Cathy Kinlaw is the public information and marketing director for Bladen Community College.