Executive Director of Roanoke Higher Education Center to Retire

Dr. Thomas L. McKeon
Dr. Thomas L. McKeon

Center’s leader grew facility over 16 years into hub of higher education and economic development

Tom McKeon has announced he will retire as executive director of the Roanoke Higher Education Center at the end of this year.

McKeon has led the Center since its construction began in 1999, creating a hub for adult learning that today supports 310 jobs and an annual economic impact of $32 million per year. A total of 9,083 people have completed degree, certificate and workforce training programs at the center since it opened in 2000.

The Roanoke Higher Education Center was among the first large redevelopment projects in the city, transforming the former art deco Norfolk & Western headquarters into a center of learning offering programs that range from the GED to the PhD.

In 2007 the Center restored and preserved the historic Henry Street buildings that became the Claude Moore Education Complex, home to Virginia Western Community College’s culinary arts program. The program is expanding along Henry Street, continuing the revitalization of a block central to African-American culture in the Gainsboro community dating back to the 1920s and earlier.

State Senator John Edwards, chair of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority Board of Trustees, announced McKeon’s retirement during a recent board meeting.

“Tom has been extraordinary,” Edwards said. “His leadership in overseeing renovation of the historic Norfolk & Western building to coordinating the member institutions has been exemplary. He has made the Roanoke Higher Education Center a model for delivering education and training in the 21st century. We could not have had a better executive director.”

“His contributions to higher education as well as historic preservation cannot be understated,” Edwards continued. “His visionary leadership has helped to position higher education as an economic engine in the city that also includes Virginia Western Community College, Jefferson College of Health Sciences and the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School and Research Institute.”

The board will appoint a search committee to select a successor by the end of the year.

“It’s been a privilege to be part of the educational and economic development fabric of the region,” McKeon said. “We’ve been fortunate to develop long-term relationships with our education and training partners to offer convenient access to higher education, especially for working adults, to help them excel in life and contribute to our region’s successes. At the same time we’ve been able to provide a proven model for collaboration in workforce training and education.”

McKeon said he’s most proud of the addition of the Claude Moore Center and the growth of culinary arts, the addition of a nursing clinical simulation center operated by Radford University, and the diversity of the center, from some of the largest universities in the Commonwealth offering doctoral degrees to job-training programs offered by TAP-This Valley Works.

“I was fortunate to pull together a top-notch staff to help make it happen,” he said. “We have a great team.”

The Center, which recently underwent an additional $8.2 million facelift, was initially among the first to be renovated, starting a renaissance of preservation and development promoting cultural and residential growth around downtown Roanoke. “A 24-7 downtown is what gives us strength and longevity as a community,” he said.

Before joining the Roanoke Higher Education Center, McKeon served as Director of the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC, McKeon was a clinical professor of educational leadership in the School of Education.

McKeon currently serves as a member of the board of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce and is chair of the Roanoke Arts Commission. He also served on the boards of The Taubman Museum of Art, Downtown Roanoke, Inc., the United Way of Roanoke Valley and the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

McKeon looks forward to spending time with his five grandchildren and boating on the North Carolina coast.

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