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Dr. Belle S. Wheelan, the longtime president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), has confirmed plans that she will retire from her post next year.
Dr. Belle S. Wheelan“To see the increases in student achievement and know that we had a little something to do with it has been extremely rewarding,” said Wheelan, who has led the accrediting body for the past two decades. “I have spent my entire professional career focused on helping students achieve their educational goals and being president of SACSCOC has been the icing on the cake.”
Wheelan, who was honored by Diverse in 2015 with its Dr. John Hope Franklin award, was the first woman and first African American to lead SACSCOC.
For 28 years prior, she served in community colleges in Texas and Virginia and as Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Wheelan actively participated throughout her career as an advocate for education, serving on the Board of Directors for American College Testing, Inc.; the American Association of Community Colleges; the Lumina Foundation for Education; the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame; Excelencia in Education; and the National Student Clearinghouse.
“Throughout her storied career and especially her tenure as association president, Dr. Wheelan has been first and foremost a champion of student learning and student experience,” said Blaine J. Hansen, executive vice president of Lees-McRae College and chair of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees.
“This commitment has been to the benefit of every student who has attended a member institution,” Hansen said. “Dr. Wheelan is a stalwart advocate for continuous improvement in higher education and we thank her for her dedicated service.”