In the summer of 2018, Dr. Lawrence L. Rouse became only the fifth president in Pitt Community College’s now 62-year history, after being approved by the State Board of Community Colleges to replace retiring PCC President G. Dennis Massey.

Rouse, who had been president and CEO of James Sprunt Community College for 13 years before coming to PCC, has more than 40 years of experience in community college administration. He was named the N.C. Community College System’s ‘President of the Year’ in 2016.

A native of Sumter, S.C., Rouse earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Voorhees College in 1978 and a master’s from the University of South Carolina in 1992. After receiving his master’s degree, he was selected as one of four South Carolinians to receive a Kellogg ACCLAIM Fellowship to attend North Carolina State University, where he earned a Doctorate of Education in 1998. As a graduate student, he also received a National Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness Fellowship.

In 2020, Rouse was inducted into the Voorhees College Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions and service to the community.

PCC is currently North Carolina’s seventh-largest community college in terms of student credit hours. The college serves nearly 20,000 students in credit and non-credit programs annually.