This article is part of EdNC’s fall 2025 “mini-blitz” to visit community colleges with presidents who began their tenure in the last two years. You can read all of our coverage of community colleges here and all of our coverage of community college presidents here.
A lifelong educator has taken the helm at Rockingham Community College (RCC). Dr. Sylvia Cox became the college’s sixth president in May 2025. With a career in education spanning more than 25 years, this teacher-turned-higher education leader brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and heart for rural communities to her new role.
“My first love was teaching,” Cox said. “I’ve been in young people’s life all my life. I love that work.”
Cox has long believed that education has the power to change lives. She grew up in Columbus County in eastern North Carolina. She’s a first-generation college student. Her mother was the only child in her family that graduated from high school, and her grandmother had a fifth-grade education. Cox has a reverence for education, especially the education that community colleges provide.
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Cox’s sister, who is 12 years older than her, was a role model when it came to higher education. She graduated from high school and earned her nursing degree at the local community college, which led to a 40+ year career at the local hospital. Seeing how higher education positively impacted her sister’s life, Cox knew she wanted to go to college. Her sister supported and encouraged her every step of the way.
“When my parents couldn’t manage it, or felt like that maybe it was a little too much, my sister would come in and save the day and go make sure that somebody got me where I needed to be. She was always rooting for me,” said Cox.
Championing rural communities
Cox moved to Raleigh to attend North Carolina State University, where she studied history with hopes of becoming a teacher. By her side was her high school sweetheart, to whom she has now been married to for more than 30 years. Neither of them had parents who attended a four-year university, leaving them to lean on each other while charting unknown territory.
“From eastern North Carolina, Raleigh feels like it’s light years away, so we kind of had to navigate college together,” said Cox. “I went to Raleigh thinking, ‘This is my saving grace, I need to just move out of this little small town,’ and didn’t realize that I would find that I really missed it.”
After graduating from N.C. State, Cox missed her rural community. She and her husband decided to move back to their hometown, where she became a history teacher for Columbus County Schools. Before starting her 25+ year career at Southeastern Community College (SCC), Cox began working with students enrolled in college classes as an adviser for an early college.
Discovering a passion
During her time in the classroom, Cox saw that reading comprehension was a barrier to her students’ success both inside and outside of the classroom. Cox first “dipped her toes in” to working at SCC by taking a part-time job teaching adults how to read. Inspired to better help her students, she went on to earn her master’s degree with a focus on educational reading, also known as remediation.
“Along that journey, I learned a lot about emergent reading, and then I really got interested in adults who had never learned to read,” said Cox.
A pattern in Cox’s life is that when she finds something interesting, she learns as much as she can about it, and then takes action, usually in service of others. Her experience supporting adult learners early on in her career became a lifelong passion that she continues to pursue.
Cox went on to continue her own education by earning a doctorate degree in higher education executive leadership. She was happy with her career and in her role as the executive vice president and chief academic officer at SCC. But her mentors saw more for her.
SCC President Dr. Chris English, one of Cox’s mentors, encouraged her to pursue becoming a community college president.
“I had spent a career telling everybody, ‘Go after your dreams. You can do anything you want to.’ I told my children that all the time. There was a moment that I had to start saying, ‘Wait a minute, am I taking my own advice?’”
RCC President Dr. Sylvia Cox
Taking the leap
With the support of her friends, family, and mentors, Cox began looking for a presidential role at a college that would be a good fit. The opening at RCC stood out to her, in part due to the historical parallels between Columbus County and Rockingham County.
“Tobacco and textile was definitely what that community (Columbus County) was really known for. When all those things shifted, it really caused devastation in that community. There’s a connection here (Rockingham County) with the history of textile and tobacco … it’s very familiar to me,” said Cox.
Because of her experiences growing up, living, and working in a rural community, Cox believes that’s the setting where she serves best. She knows many of the struggles and strengths of living in a rural county, which she believes allows her to appreciate all of its unique gifts.
Meeting workforce needs
Cox’s passion for adult learners will go to good use at RCC. As of the 2024-25 school year, 56% of RCC students are above the age of 25. Additionally, most students at RCC — 52% in the 2024-25 school year — are enrolled only in workforce continuing education programs, compared to the 36% of students enrolled only in curriculum programs.
RCC has a wide range of programs available to serve its adult learners and continuing education students, including many options that are workforce- and credential-focused. To date, the college has 13 career and technical pathways across several industries.
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly relevant for students entering the workforce, RCC is already adapting pathways to prepare students. This is timely for the county, considering the recent closure of the UNIFI production plant in Madison after more than 30 years of operation, resulting in a loss of more than 200 local jobs.
UNIFI sold its plant in Madison to Bit Digital, a “global platform for high performance computing (HPC) infrastructure and digital asset production company,” according to CNBC. WhiteFiber, the AI division of Bit Digital, plans to transform the property into a high-performance computing (HPC) and AI data center campus.
“The types of jobs that data center will have are exactly what we’re training students for,” said Thomas Knight, the department chair for business technologies and program coordinator for the information technology (IT) program at RCC.
RCC offers several hands-on learning opportunities for students interested in IT. One opportunity is their three-part Cisco series, which is a short-term training program. Upon successful completion of the program and exam, students can become a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), which is a globally recognized certification that demonstrates core knowledge of IT. The average entry-level salary for a CCNA in North Carolina is around $60,000, while a CCNA with more years of experience can earn a salary of $100,000 or more.
Prioritizing cross-sector learning
RCC opened the doors to its brand new center for workforce development in August 2024. The center is home to several RCC programs, including computer integrated machining, electrical systems, and industrial systems. The facility also houses RCC’s small business center and a corporate meeting space utilized by local organizations and businesses.
The center offers multiple experiential learning labs for several of the college’s programs. Students are able to test out their knowledge on industry-relevant machines during their coursework. This year, RCC hopes to provide cross-sector learning opportunities for its IT students and mechatronics students.
Knight explained that a lot of the equipment mechatronics students use will be networked. Currently, mechatronics technicians are trained to troubleshoot the physical components of the equipment, but not the network issues. That challenge can be solved by including IT courses for mechatronics students.
“Those students will take some mechatronics courses, and some IT courses, and they’ll take the whole Cisco program, so when they finish with their mechatronics certificate, they’ll be CCNA certified as well,” said Knight.
Opening a CTE Innovative High School
RCC now offers additional opportunities for high school students to participate in career and technical education (CTE). In addition to having an early college and other dual enrollment opportunities, RCC opened its own CTE Innovative High School this year.
“These students will start on a high school CTE pathway, where they’ll get exposed to that high school level of construction, advanced manufacturing, and even healthcare,” said Cox.
These three pathways all give students the opportunity to earn industry credentials, postsecondary certifications, and an associate degree. Students will participate in hands-on training and can also explore their fields of interest through internships and apprenticeships.
Although the CTE Innovative High School is new, staff shared that they can already see the positive impact it is having on the community.
The same can be said for Dr. Cox. She may just be getting started, but her energy, commitment, and vision is already known on campus.
“I hear people’s RCC stories, and I know what an impact this college had on their lives… they have that same feeling I have of what education did for me. And you see it. You hear it in their voice, you see it in their facial expressions, and then you see it in their commitment to this college. It’s a high honor to serve this rural community.”
RCC President Dr. Sylvia Cox
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