Dr. John Rainone, president of Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, will join the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), headquartered in Washington, DC. The board voted unanimously to certify the results of the 2020 Board Election on Thursday, June 4, during a Zoom meeting. Dr. Rainone will join twelve other newly elected or appointed board members for a two-year term beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 20, 2022.
AACC is governed by a 32-member board of directors. The board acts on behalf of the institutional members to create and maintain a vision for AACC and to determine and ensure that the organization adheres to appropriate standards of performance. The board is committed to guaranteeing accountability of AACC to the membership.
In response to Dr. Rainone, election, AACC President and CEO Walter G. Bumphus said, “Dr. Rainone is a highly respected by his peers around the country, as evidenced by his election to a coveted position on the AACC board. I am confident that Dr. Rainone will represent and advocate for community colleges effectively on the national level. The AACC staff, current board members and I look forward to welcoming Dr. Rainone to the board of directors.”
Dr. Rainone, president of DSLCC since 2013, has over 30 years of experience in the field of education, serving as a teacher, administrator and chief executive officer. A native of Providence, RI, he is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University, where he earned both his bachelors and master’s degrees. He earned a doctoral degree in Higher Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
“I’m honored and humbled to be appointed to the AACC Board,” said Rainone. “I look forward to working with great leaders across the country to strengthen the community college movement.”
Dr. Rainone moved to Maine in 1995 to help begin the newly created York County Community College. He served the college for 18 years as Assistant Dean of Continuing Education, Dean of Professional Development and Business Services, Interim Dean of Academic Programs, Interim Dean of Finance & Administration and Dean of Institutional Advancement/Executive Director of the College's Foundation. Dr. Rainone's teaching experience includes 27 years as an adjunct faculty member at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the areas of business research methods, nonprofit management and leadership.
Dr. Rainone has served as National President of the Council for Resource Development, an affiliate of the AACC. He serves as Commissioner on AACC’s Small and Rural Colleges Commission, and AACC’s Task Force on Apprenticeship. He has also served as a judge at the Community College Futures Assembly.
He has served as Board Chair for the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation, serves on the board of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, Botetourt Chamber of Commerce, LewisGale Alleghany Hospital, the Alleghany Highlands YMCA and Virginia Blue Ridge Works Workforce Board. He is also a Rotarian in the Covington-Hot Springs Club and has served as president.
Dr. Rainone was recognized as a “Top 10 Influential Executives on Twitter” from Campus Sonar Online in 2019, and received the Emerging Leadership Award from the AACC in 2016, and the Giving Back Diversity Leadership Award from Insight into Diversity magazine, also in 2016.
He received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award from Southern New Hampshire University, was recognized by Seacoast (Maine and New Hampshire) Media Group as a “Mover and Shaker” and as Rotarian of the Decade by Rotary District 7780.
He is also an honorary member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and is a Certified Fundraising Executive.