MONTICELLO – After a national talent search, SUNY Sullivan welcomed Dr. Carissa Massey as the new Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. In her third week on the job, Massey visited the Sullivan County Legislature during its January meeting to share her excitement about the new position and to introduce herself to Sullivan County.

“I am from a very rural part of West Virginia, coal mining family; rural education was a real challenge,” said Massey. “I didn’t have access to a community college like the one you have here serving your students and your economy... I’m a first-generation, low-income college graduate, so for me, the student population, the community, how this community college serves you, both now and also in the future, and continues to serve the students after they graduate, is why I’m here.” 

Massey, who earned her PhD in Interdisciplinary Arts from Ohio University, has been in higher education as a teacher and administrator for 26 years. She has worked at both large state schools and small private colleges, and her last job was serving as Provost of Pennsylvania College of Art and Design from 2019 to 2025. 

“I’ve been around the block,” said Massey, “and no one does a better job of keeping their doors open than a community college in making sure they are serving the community that invests in them.”

District 5 Legislator and SUNY Sullivan alumna Cat Scott welcomed Massey to her new position and praised the leadership of SUNY Sullivan President Dr. David Potash. “I am so confident that the college is headed in a great direction… it’s really great to hear how invested this college wants to be in student success,” Scott said. 

Massey spoke to the challenges that students in a rural area face, saying there are limited opportunities in West Virginia for students to stay in their region after they’ve earned a degree. She stressed the importance of developing a robust network of faculty and alumni that can steer recent graduates to employment opportunities.

Massey said, “We have to find all the ways possible to pipeline those students into employment. And if you don’t have a commitment and a plan to get those students from the time they’re recruited all the way into placement and employment, and then keep them employed—they’re our alumni, they’re our students forever—then you’re not doing your job. Ultimately it is about them becoming citizens who can earn and have a meaningful life as a citizen and a family. That’s the goal.”