[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 195 (Thursday, December 15, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING SANDHILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT DR. JOHN R. DEMPSEY FOR 
                   33 YEARS OF LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE

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                          HON. RICHARD HUDSON

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 15, 2022

  Mr. HUDSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Sandhills Community 
College President Dr. John R. Dempsey for 33 years of leadership and 
service within our community. President Dempsey will retire at the end 
of the year.
  President Dempsey began his career in education in 1974 as a 
professor and associate dean at The College of Charleston. He later 
served as President of Belmont Abbey College before becoming President 
of Sandhills Community College in 1989. His 33 year tenure is the 
longest at a single institution among all current community college 
presidents in North Carolina.
  President Dempsey's robust background and skillful leadership has 
positively transformed Sandhills Community College to better support 
all in our community. His tactful fundraising improved the College's 
endowment from $1 million to $50 million, which currently stands as the 
second highest among community colleges in North Carolina. He 
instituted the Sandhills Promise program, which provides free tuition 
for two years to any student from Moore or Hoke County, and the 
Guarantors program, which provides financial assistance to established 
Sandhills students who come across unexpected financial troubles. 
Additionally, he further developed the College's Hoke Center satellite 
campus by improving its facilities and instituting the SandHoke Early 
College in coordination with Hoke County Schools. He has overseen 
numerous projects on Sandhills' main campus, including the conversion 
of the auditorium into the multi-venue Bradshaw Performing Arts Center. 
President Dempsey's work has also been crucial in ensuring that 
instructors at the College receive proper care. He established a 
hierarchical system of organization to distinguish professors and 
associate professors, and his colleagues have widely remarked on his 
commitment to and success in providing instructors with necessary 
resources and materials. For his outstanding service, President Dempsey 
has been awarded many civic honors and awards. Perhaps most 
impressively, he became the inaugural recipient of the United Way of 
Moore County's Cornerstone Award in 2004.
  Such impressive accomplishments represent only a fraction of 
President Dempsey's impact on Sandhills Community College and our 
community more broadly. I would like to offer my most heartfelt 
appreciation to President Dempsey for his committed and impactful 
leadership, and I join our entire community in gratitude as we honor 
his extraordinary career.
  Madam Speaker, please join me today in honoring Sandhills Community 
College President, Dr. John R. Dempsey for his career of exemplary 
leadership and service to his community.

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