Two new Vice Presidents named at VGCC

Vance-Granville Community College recently welcomed two new senior administrators. Steven Graham of Oxford, N.C. was named Vice President of Finance and Operations, while Stacey Carter-Coley of Apex, N.C. joined the college in March as Vice President of Employee and Public Relations. Both Graham and Carter-Coley are new faces at VGCC but have years of experience in education and public service.

Graham (pictured above, left) comes to VGCC from the Vance County Schools, where he served most recently as Finance Officer for the school system and previously served as purchasing and distribution manager. Prior to joining Vance County Schools in 2000, Graham worked in banking in the Henderson and Hillsborough areas. A VGCC alumnus, Graham graduated with an Associate in Arts degree in 1986 and then transferred to N.C. State University, where he completed degrees in Accounting and Business Management. He also holds designations as a Certified Finance Officer, a Certified School Business Director, a Certified Purchasing Manager, and a Certified Local Government Purchasing Officer. Graham has taught for the UNC School of Government and for the Carolinas Association of Governmental Purchasing. He has a special connection to VGCC through his mother, Patricia Graham, who was one of the first employees hired by the college (then known as Vance County Technical Institute) in 1969. She served as the secretary/executive assistant to the president of the college until her retirement in 2006. Graham’s father was a teacher, coach and athletic director for Vance County Schools. “I was blessed to have wonderful parents who spent their entire careers in the field of education, and I feel like I have inherited their passion,” Graham said. He said that VGCC is “a hometown organization that I hold dear to my heart and that has a proven track record in sound fiscal management and in exceeding academic performance standards.” Graham added, “I have had the pleasure of witnessing the growth of Vance County Technical Institute into Vance-Granville Community College, and I have been blessed to experience firsthand the valued services that VGCC offers to our community. I walked under those arches many times as an inspired youth, as I attended classes in the College Transfer program.” In his new role, Graham leads a division that includes the Business Office, the Bookstore, the Civic Center, Plant Operations, and purchasing.

Carter-Coley (pictured above, right) joined VGCC after having served since 2005 as Executive Director of Human Resources and Ethics Liaison to the Board of Trustees at Central Carolina Community College in Sanford, N.C. Meanwhile, she has also been an adjunct faculty member at the Raleigh campus of the University of Phoenix, teaching courses such as employment law. Earlier in her career, Carter-Coley served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of North Carolina and as an Assistant District Attorney for Johnston, Lee, and Harnett counties. Carter-Coley is a graduate of UNC-Asheville and Wake Forest University School of Law. As Vice President of Employee and Public Relations, Carter-Coley will have executive oversight of VGCC’s Human Resources, Marketing/Public Information, Police/Public Safety, and Publications/Print Shop departments. “I’m excited to be able to lead a division that maintains and promotes the identity of VGCC as the best place to learn and work,” Carter-Coley said. “Our students and our communities are fortunate to have an exceptionally talented team working on their behalf at Vance-Granville, and we must continue to recruit and retain high-quality faculty and staff while developing leaders from within the college.” Carter-Coley is also looking forward to further building the new VGCC Police Department, drawing upon her past experience, which included providing legal representation to the N.C. Highway Patrol and other state law enforcement agencies, as well as teaching law enforcement cadets.