ECC Announces New Dean

Sheryll Wood has been named dean of the Division of Arts and Sciences at Edgecombe Community College.

Sheryll Wood, an experienced educator who has spent nearly 30 years teaching at the college level, has been named dean of the Division of Arts and Sciences at Edgecombe Community College.

In her new position, she will oversee programs in Biotechnology, College Transfer, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Education/Lateral Entry Teaching, English/Humanities, Human Services, Mathematics, Pre-Engineering, Science, Social Sciences, and Transitional Studies.

Wood joined ECC in September 2013 as chair of the Department of English/Humanities. Prior to her Edgecombe appointment, she taught English at East Carolina University. She also has held instructional and administrative posts at Pitt, Lenoir, and Wilson community colleges.

“I came to Edgecombe Community College because I thought it was a place where I could make a difference,” she says. “The deanship gives me the chance to use my skills, challenge myself, and create opportunities to enable both instructors and students to be more successful.”

Her immediate goal is to “acclimate myself to the role to discover the best ways to be supportive of my division chairs, instructors, and students.”

“Through her previous positions, Ms. Wood has accumulated relevant experience in the areas of college transfer, accreditation, supervision of instruction, curriculum development, and program improvement,” notes Dr. Harry Starnes, vice president of instruction at ECC. “I am excited about the gifts and talents she brings to this key position at Edgecombe Community College.”

In addition to her new role as dean, Wood is leading the college through the reaffirmation of its accreditation status by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Reaffirmation is a multi-year process that occurs every ten years. The college first received SACS accreditation in 1972, and it was reaffirmed in 1978, 1988, 1998, and 2008.

“Leading the SACS reaccreditation study will give me a great opportunity to participate in the total life of the college. My role as dean and my work on SACS will inform one another. It’s an exciting time to be at Edgecombe Community College,” she says.

Wood holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from East Carolina University. She has completed additional course work in curriculum and instruction at North Carolina State University.

Her professional affiliations include the North Carolina College Transfer Program Association, the North Carolina Conference of English Instructors, and Delta Kappa Gamma Society, an honor society for professional women educators.