Where OUTSTANDING careers get started.
WHAT DRIVES US
Our Vision
Reynolds will be Greater Richmond’s most trusted partner for education and a skilled workforce fostering a more just community through social and economic mobility.
Our Mission
Reynolds delivers an outstanding education with pathways to baccalaureate degrees and high demand careers in a culture where every student belongs.
We Value
We value the transformative power of an education.
We value our students and provide the support they need to reach their educational goals and realize economic mobility.
We value our people and embrace the responsibility to serve all students and create a sense of belonging.
We value our community and work in partnership to address economic inequities and contribute to a diverse and skilled workforce.
2021-2024 Strategic Direction
As Reynolds enters its next fifty years serving the Richmond region, we lean into our new strategic direction, entitled It’s a New Day that requires us to adapt to the seismic shift in higher education, the changing financial considerations (both for the college and for students), changing student demographics, and a rapidly changing American higher education landscape.
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THE COLLEGE
Founded in 1972, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College is the youngest and among the largest of the 23 colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). The college is named in honor of the late Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, J. Sargeant Reynolds, who championed legislation creating the state-supported community college system and publicly took positions that, at the time, were courageous on education improvement, economic development, and equal opportunity regardless of race or life circumstance.
The service region of Reynolds encompasses the City of Richmond and counties of Hanover, Henrico, Goochland and portions of Louisa and Powhatan. The two largest localities, the City and Richmond and Henrico County, have a large population of racial and ethnic minorities, the majority of which are African American. The smaller counties in the Reynolds service region, Hanover, Goochland, Louisa and Powhatan, do not reflect this same demographic diversity, with the percentage of white residents ranging from 81-88% (U.S. Census Bureau).
Our Commitment to Post Secondary Access and Success
Too many residents of Greater Richmond lack opportunity for social and economic mobility. It is not a lack of intellect, aptitude or talent that limits the ability of some to thrive; rather, policies to concentrate poverty and public housing have disproportionally created barriers to education and higher-wage employment for communities of color. At the same time, employers report difficulty filling jobs due to a lack of available talent. They struggle to find educated, qualified workers, even in fields that offer strong wages. Thousands of good jobs in areas core to our infrastructure go unfilled, impeding business growth and expansion.
At Reynolds, we believe all students can reach their full potential when we create the conditions that allow it and it is our responsibility to do so. We embrace our role to provide employers with skilled talent, enabling our economic development partners to attract new business and help those already in our region expand. We carry out these dual obligations with intentional action. For students, we address barriers that prevent many community college students from completing their education by providing wraparound supports including food pantries, emergency grants and loans, access to mental health services and a partnership with Single Stop™, a national non-profit organization that builds pathways out of poverty by leveraging partnerships and technology to connect people to existing resources, all through a unique one-stop shop model. Hand in hand with industry, we
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develop curriculum that enables students to gain the skills and competencies needed to access good paying jobs. Along with regional workforce development, educational and philanthropic partners, we work to address the region’s talent shortages and provide economic mobility for Richmond’s families.
The journey toward creating transformational change was launched in fall 2018 when Reynolds began a deep dive into success data that revealed an alarming equity gap in student outcomes between students of color and their peers. The statistics were a wake-up call. With speed and intentionality, the college implemented strategies to improve the delivery of our core mission to serve students and our community, refusing to allow students of color to falter and fall further behind while business proceeds as usual. In a college reorganization, difficult personnel reductions were made to reinvest in hiring staff who work directly with students to address their complex needs, establishing holistic student supports, and investing in faculty and staff to provide the knowledge and skills needed to serve our diverse student population. These actions showed promising results. Enrollment, which had been on a spiral downslide, stabilized in Fall 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic along with the racial reckoning that gripped our nation was felt intensely in our service region. Richmond’s role in history as the capital of the Confederacy featured prominently within the broader national movement of racial reckoning. Monument Avenue, a tourist attraction and point of pride for some and a source of anger and pain for others, made international news as its monuments came down, symbolizing a new narrative of Richmond that many are eager to write versus the Confederate iconography and story others wish to preserve. The results of these two pandemics on Reynolds enrollment are cause of great concern. Between Fall 2019 and Fall 2020, new enrollment of students of color declined by 26% when there was a 6% increase in new white students. For returning students, there was a decline of 32% of students of color compared to an 8% decline of their white peers.
As Reynolds enters its next half-century mark, the college community is committed to reengaging those who stepped away during the pandemic and serving marginalized populations who have been left out of post-secondary education and pathways to social and economic mobility. Intentional efforts over the past year, guided by the college’s strategic direction, are working. Fall 2022 enrollment grew by 4%.
In June 2022, Reynolds joined the Achieving the Dream Network, the national movement for community college transformation that leads to equitable student success.
Statement on Equity (adopted September 20, 2022)
At Reynolds Community College, we are committed to fostering an equitable educational environment where all individuals can attain the knowledge and skills to pursue the college and career path of their choice, develop a sense of self, and become active and contributing members of their communities. Personal and social identifiers such as race, ethnicity, gender, disability, citizenship, language, sexual orientation, religion, and/or income should not represent obstacles to accessing educational opportunities, nor be predictors of future success.
Understanding the lived experience of the students and communities we serve is essential to our ability to deliver on this commitment. At Reynolds, equity does not mean creating equal conditions for all students, but rather targeting resources and removing barriers based on individual students’ needs and circumstances, which includes providing differentiated supports and respecting students’ voice and agency.
We measure and track progress toward our most important institutional priorities and goals with data – aggregated and disaggregated - to ensure that our strategies promote equitable access, progression, completion, and job placement outcomes for all students.
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STUDENT SNAPSHOT 2021-22
Reynolds enrolled approximately 11,000 students annually in credit courses, with a full-time equivalency of about 4,750
80% of Reynolds students attend part-time
49% of students came from minority groups
Close to 71% of all students receive some form of financial aid
57% of students experience at least one form of basic needs insecurity (food or housing)
Reynolds enrolled nearly 1,500 high school students through dual enrollment programs
31% of students were first generation
Reynolds conferred nearly 1,564 certificates, diplomas, and degrees to our 1,395 graduating students
Top 4-year institutions to which our students transfer:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, Liberty University, and Virginia Tech
Academic Programs
Offering over 80 degree and certificate programs, Reynolds Community College provides an outstanding college experience and support systems engineered for student success. Developed in partnership with the business community and traditional four-year colleges and universities, programs in our four academic schools are grounded in the real world, calibrated to the needs of tomorrow’s economy and attuned to the aspirations of our students. In addition, Reynolds offers an array of fully online programs, maintains transfer agreements with many regional four-year colleges and universities, and has a robust dual enrollment program with school systems in its service region. For more specific information on the academic programs, degrees and certificates offered by Reynolds, please visit our online catalog
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Biology class taught by Professor Bryan Rhodes
Pictured: (Top) Reynolds Downtown Campus
(Bottom Left) The Workforce Development and Conference Center, Parham Road Campus
(Bottom Right) The Kitchens at Reynolds
Workforce Development
The Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA) is the workforce development partnership between Reynolds and neighboring Brightpoint Community College serving the workforce and economic development needs in four cities and 12 counties of the greater Richmond region. The organization’s primary objective is helping individuals prepare for work and careers through short-term,non-credit training and credential attainment, doing so in partnership with the academic divisions of both colleges, regional business and industry, workforce development partners, and communitybased organizations. CCWA has distinguished itself as the second highest provider of FastForward certifications in the state, and the top in credential attainment.
Faculty and Staff
Reynolds employs over 100 full time teaching faculty, close to 600 adjunct faculty, over 200 full time staff and approximately 300 part time staff.
Facilities
Reynolds currently has three campuses: downtown Richmond, suburban Henrico County, and a small campus on the outskirts of Richmond in Goochland County. In the summer of 2020, the college opened The Kitchens at Reynolds in a historic and historically underresourced neighborhood in Richmond City comprised of a majority of African-American residents—but demographics are shifting here, too, highlighting the disparities among new and legacy residents. The new site serves as the home for the college’s culinary arts program and a satellite for sustainable agriculture. The Kitchens at Reynolds is a gateway to all Reynolds programs and services for east end residents, many of who rely on public transportation and live in one of four public housing communities in Richmond.
Budget and Finance
Reynolds is fiscally sound with an annual budget of $50 million. Sources of income are predominantly student tuition and state appropriations. Local funds generate an additional $3 million. Sponsored programs and the college’s foundation also provide funding to support the college.
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College Foundations
The J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Educational Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity devoted to securing private resources to help support Reynolds Community College and its students. With $20 million in assets, the Foundation conducts fundraising to sustain scholarships, support high priority projects, and serve an academically diverse student body through resources for curricula development and enhancement, equipment, and student support services. The Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors comprised of community and business leaders. On average, the Foundation provides approximately $2 million annually to support scholarships and college programs and services. The Foundation’s most recent capital campaign raised $10 million towards the opening of The Kitchens at Reynolds.
The J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Real Estate Foundation is a 501(c)(3) supporting organization of the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Educational Foundation, created to serve as a vehicle for real estate initiatives supporting the college mission. Currently, the Real Estate Foundation holds land assets in Goochland County and is the lessee of the recently opened Kitchens at Reynolds.
Accreditation
Reynolds, as a part of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), is approved by the State Board for Community Colleges. The associate degree curricula at Reynolds have also been approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Reynolds is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The college completed its decennial reaffirmation process in 2020.
In addition to accreditation by SACSCOC, several Reynolds academic programs are formally accredited by professional associations including the American Culinary Federation, Inc., the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc., and the Commission on Opticianry Accreditation, among others.
Pictured: Financial assistance from scholarships allow students to more fully participate in work-based learning activities and avoid taking on college debt. Here, Reynolds nursing students apply their skills at the Arthur Ashe Center Vaccination Clinic.
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Where OUTSTANDING careers get started. reynolds.edu