A. Scott Fleming will lead the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the council announced Thursday, following a nearly yearlong search process.
SCHEV is the coordinating agency for Virginia’s public colleges and universities, tasked with ensuring implementation of state policies across institutions and collecting data on the higher education landscape.
Fleming, a Springfield resident and a member of the council since last year, was most recently chief strategy officer for Teaching Solutions, an e-learning company specializing in early childhood education. He also has experience in higher education, both as a staffer to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and as an executive at the Strada Education Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to foster connections between education and employment opportunities.
In a call with reporters Thursday, Fleming said he’ll be focused on the agency’s existing priority of creating opportunities for Virginia residents “to be able to access high-quality education at an affordable rate.” He added that he’s interested in using technology in part to make the agency more nimble in response to the needs of the state and its higher education institutions, “especially where it relates to education and the workforce.”
“He is a forward-thinking professional who brings tremendous expertise in education,” said Ken Ampy, SCHEV Council chair, in a statement Thursday. “He is the right person at the right time for the agency and the Commonwealth. The Council is confident that from day one Scott will bring enthusiasm and innovation to SCHEV and higher education in Virginia.”
Fleming was appointed to the council, which oversees the commonwealth’s colleges and universities, by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in July 2023, and served on the academic affairs committee. He stepped down from the council to take the director position and wasn’t a part of hiring discussions, he said.
Previous director Peter Blake left in late 2023 after nearly 12 years as head of the state agency. The Isaacson, Miller search firm conducted the search for the new director alongside a seven-member search committee that included Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera. Fleming said he expressed interest in the director role in January.
The incoming director seemed to take a moderate view on the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion during his call with reporters. DEI has been a point of contention between the governor and much of the education community in the state since he took office in early 2022. This spring, Youngkin’s office asked Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University to submit their syllabi for courses addressing diversity and race to Guidera for review.
“It’s important for the state to make sure everyone has the opportunity to succeed in higher education,” he said, including underrepresented communities and people of color. But he also said that when it comes to using public funding, student outcomes of persistence, completion and retention should be top priority in order to use those resources wisely.
The state council has 13 members, and currently includes appointees named by three different governors.
Fleming holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University. His first day in office will be May 28. He plans to relocate with his family to the Richmond area.