Kimberly Britt, Ph.D.

Kimberly Britt, Ph.D.

Reynolds Community College

Richmond, VA
United States

2019-2020
Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow

Dr. Kimberly Britt is the vice president of academic and student affairs at Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia. She leads five deans and an assistant vice president in academic and student success strategies, supporting 16,000 students annually across three campuses. Prior to her tenure at Reynolds, Dr. Britt worked as vice president for academic and student affairs for Eastern Shore Community College in Melfa, Virginia, and she served as an academic dean for humanities, arts and social sciences at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Virginia. Dr. Britt’s work in Virginia most recently has been focused on developing guided pathways, implementing student support services to aid in completion and retention, and using scheduling data to ensure students are successful in obtaining the right courses at the right time.

Prior to her professional transition to the Virginia Community College System, Dr. Britt served the South Carolina Technical College System at Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) for 16 years. Beginning her work as an English adjunct, Dr. Britt soon was appointed full-time professor of English. She later worked as the director for dual enrollment and department chair for English, reading, and developmental studies.

A former foster youth, Dr. Britt emphatically understands the road that many community college students are walking. She has experienced poverty and the longing to rise from it. More importantly, Dr. Britt knows firsthand the transformative experience that higher education can have on a person’s life when an institution builds support structures around students trying to succeed against all odds. She is committed to crossing institutional boundaries and instilling in those with whom she works a belief that each of us has a role to fulfill in the transformation of lives.

Despite living in a group home for abused children and experiencing a number of different foster homes, with the support of foster parents and several college employees, Dr. Britt earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Charleston Southern University. Additionally, she earned a master’s in English from Northwestern State University and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of South Carolina.

Dr. Britt resides in Glen Allen, Virginia, and shares two incredible daughters, Hunter and Ana, with her long-time champion, David. She considers this trio her greatest joy in life.