Vance-Granville Community College honors the late Dr. Benjamin Fleming Currin (1936-2024). Dr. Currin, who served as the College’s president from 1981 until 1998, holds the distinction of being VGCC’s longest-serving president. He passed away peacefully at his home in Raleigh on November 23, 2024.
Life and Legacy
A native of Granville County, Dr. Ben Currin attended public schools in Oxford from elementary school through his high school graduation. He went on to earn bachelor’s, masters, and doctorate degrees, all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed the Government Executives Institute of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Business Administration, and he was also selected to attend the Management of Lifelong Education Institute at Harvard University in 1986.
Dr. Currin’s lifelong commitment to education began in 1959 when he served as an eighth grade teacher and athletics coach at Lowe’s Grove School in Durham. In 1961, he became the principal at an elementary school in Wayne County, where he was the youngest principal in the state. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he held additional educational leadership positions in Thomasville, Halifax County, and Rocky Mount. While serving in Halifax County and Rocky Mount, he led the effective integration of their public school districts.
In 1981, Dr. Ben Currin became the third president to serve our institution. During his time at Vance-Granville Community College, he helped us grow from one campus to four and doubled our enrollment. He also reactivated the College’s Endowment Fund (now known as The VGCC Foundation), growing it from $12,000 to $5 million to provide numerous scholarships to students.
In 2009, Dr. Currin received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for service to our state. In 2016, he received the I.E. Ready Award, the highest honor awarded by the North Carolina Community College System. Dr. Currin devoted his entire life to the service of others, his family, and his native North Carolina.
Additional Information
Dr. Ben F. Currin is survived by his wife of 67 years, Betsy Bullock Currin; his devoted son, George Bullock Currin; his beloved granddaughter, Catherine Elizabeth Currin; and a number of relatives and dear friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Dr. Ben F. Currin Scholarship at Vance-Granville Community College or to Transitions LifeCare. Please contribute to the Dr. Ben F. Currin Scholarship at vgcc.edu/the-vgcc-foundation-online-gifts or contact The VGCC Foundation to learn more.
The family will host a graveside service at Elmwood Cemetery in Oxford on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. For more information, please visit the memorial page for Dr. Currin.
