Ferrum, VA, December 9, 2025 — Ferrum College’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Delia Heck, has been appointed to the Principles of Accreditation Revision Committee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. SACSCOC is the accrediting body for Ferrum College and other degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.
The committee ensures that SACSCOC “maintains standards that are clear, relevant, and responsive to the evolving higher education landscape,” according to the SACSCOC website. “The committee provides leadership in reviewing, clarifying, and recommending revisions to the Principles of Accreditation, which serve as the foundation for institutional quality and accountability.”
Dr. Heck is the only representative from a four-year college in Virginia appointed to this committee. She and Dr. Jason Powell, associate vice president of Academic Affairs and chief innovation and research officer, are representing Ferrum College at the SACSCOC convention in Nashville this week.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be invited to serve on this committee,” said Dr. Heck. “While I may be the individual chosen, it actually reflects the work that Ferrum College as a whole has done over the last twenty years to become a leader in assessing student learning and institutional effectiveness. You don’t become an expert in this field without practicing it daily. The commitment to excellence in evaluating student learning outcomes began under President Jennifer Braaten with the hiring of Dr. Leslie Lambert as provost, and continues to this day under President Mirta Martin. Ferrum College should be very proud of the esteem with which we are held within the SACSCOC community.”
Dr. Heck, who is also director of Institutional Effectiveness and a professor of Environmental Science, has served in a variety of roles during her 27 years at Ferrum College. She was the interim provost for seven months before being appointed to the position permanently in summer 2024. Her previous roles included director of Assessment and Institutional Research, director of the Quality Enhancement Plan, and program coordinator for Environmental Science.
Since 2013 Dr. Heck has served on several SACSCOC committees and audit teams involved with evaluating other educational institutions on-site and off-site. In 2008-2010, she and former provost Lambert led Ferrum College’s ten-year reaccreditation review, a process in which all departments of the College are involved in reporting on their effectiveness according to the SACSCOC standards, before external evaluators conduct their evaluation.
Dr. Heck earned her Ph.D. and master’s degree in economic geography from the University of Washington. She graduated with a bachelor of science degree in regional development from the University of Arizona. Among the awards Dr. Heck has received are the Ferrum College Exemplary Faculty Award in 2021 and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in 2019.
Dr. Heck continues to co-lead Ferrum College’s Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program, which completed its 39th year of collecting samples this summer. She works on climate justice and environmental racism as a member of The Episcopal Church’s Taskforce for Care of Creation and Environmental Racism. In 2023, she attended and spoke as a panelist representing the Episcopal Church at COP 28, the 28th United Nations Conference of Parties, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
President Mirta Martin said, “Ferrum College is honored to have a voice at the table as SACSCOC undertakes this important review of the Principles of Accreditation. Dr. Delia Heck’s appointment ensures that the College remains engaged in the conversations shaping the future of accreditation and supporting the success of all institutions. We are grateful that Dr. Heck will serve in this important initiative and represent Ferrum College in this meaningful work.”
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