Meet Senior VP of Academic Affairs Eileen Abel

by Maria Vargas

Dr. Eileen Abel loves to read. It doesn’t much matter what; she’s a fan of fiction and contemporary literature in most genres. She also enjoys swimming and frequently travels to the Caribbean with her husband to scuba dive.

As RVCC’s new senior vice president of Academic Affairs, Abel handles the school’s management needs, which range from making sure faculty follow the curriculum to approving dual enrollment for high school students who wish to take early credits.

Abel plans to improve systematic course assessment, implement an Honors College next fall, streamline class scheduling and final scheduling, support faculty teaching and learning, as well as meet a variety of student needs. Her goals for upcoming semesters include encouraging students to value education more and helping graduates prepare for life outside the college after they leave.

Abel is enthusiastic about being here. When she first learned about RVCC, she said, the college and its achievements impressed her. When she interviewed for the job, she was delighted and excited as well as nervous, she said. By the end of the two-day process, she knew that this is where she wanted to work and still wakes up energetic and happy to go to work, she said.

Originally from Colorado, Abel moved to the south, which she considers her home. She received a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the College of Wooster and a doctorate in English from the University of Tennessee. Before coming to RVCC she was an educator at Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Kentucky and worked briefly at the College of the Redwoods in California.

During her 10-year stay at Bluegrass, Abel served as coordinator of General Education, creating procedures and tools to help assessment at the college, and as assistant dean of Humanities and Business Technology, working on a merger with a technical institute. She also created the Bluegrass honors program and a peer evaluation process for faculty.

Despite loving New Jersey, Abel said she misses Kentucky, her friends and knowing where to buy things. The cost of living is better there too, she said. Nonetheless, she said, working at RVCC is “the best job in the world.”

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