The 2026 RBC Commencement will take place on campus grounds on May 16 at 2 p.m. Click for more information.

Richard Bland College

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Why Richard Bland College?

To prepare our students for a lifetime of endless potential.

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Richard Bland College offers many challenging courses and programs that will provide you with a solid foundation in the liberal arts as you begin or continue your pursuit of higher education. By attending Richard Bland College and completing the Associate Degree, you will have completed the first two years toward the Baccalaureate Degree.

We have guaranteed transfer agreements with four-year colleges and universities across the Commonwealth that will enhance your educational opportunities.
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A high quality, affordable college education should be within the reach of every student. Our goal is 100% student success, and that begins with offering the first two years of your undergraduate education at a reasonable cost that can be paid without going into debt. Richard Bland College, Virginia’s only public, residential two year college, is also one of the Commonwealth’s most affordable
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Richard Bland College is the only two-year residential college in Virginia. The residence halls were built in 2008 and offer apartment-style living with state-of-the-art amenities. Students are able to live and eat affordably starting at just $9,840 per year ranging up to $11,640 per year depending on their room assignment.
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Sen. Mamie Locke Announced as 2026 RBC Commencement Speaker

For Immediate Release: April 23, 2026

Contact: Sterling Giles, Associate Director of Communications/sgiles@rbc.edu

Sen. Mamie E. Locke (D-23) will deliver this year’s commencement address at Richard Bland College. The ceremony will take place on college grounds Saturday, May 16 at 2 p.m.

“Senator Locke has been an unflinching champion for Richard Bland and its unique educational mission,” said Dr. Debbie Sydow, President of Richard Bland College. “This year’s graduates and, indeed, all in attendance will be lifted up and inspired by Senator Locke’s address.”

As an elected official, Locke was the first African American woman elected Mayor of the City of Hampton. She eventually became only the third African American woman to win a seat in the Virginia Senate. Additionally, she chairs the Subcommittee on Higher Education for the Education and Health Committee, as well as the Education Subcommittee for Finance and Appropriations.

Locke—who received the first-ever Stateswoman Award at the Richard Bland College Awards of Distinction ceremony last December—patroned legislation that granted the College independence from William & Mary last April. That single action to establish a Board of Visitors dedicated solely to Richard Bland College—the Commonwealth’s only university-parallel, residential college—is expected to unleash unprecedented innovation in the years ahead.

Locke received her B.A. in history and political science from Tougaloo College. She also received both her master’s and doctorate in political science from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). She is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Hampton University. She also served as the Assistant Dean and the Dean of The School of Liberal Arts and Education.

Second-year RBC student Braxton Miller from Prince George County, Virginia, will serve as this year’s commencement student speaker. He will attend William & Mary in the fall.

Tour Our Campus Now

Ready to Create Your Journey?

Hey everybody. Welcome to Richard Bland College, the commonwealth of Virginia’s premier two year residential college.
I’m Jayden, your student brand ambassador, and I’m here to show you around our beautiful campus. So let’s get started It. Richard Bland College boast a modest and diverse student population on a picture S 750 acre campus.
Located just south of Richmond, Virginia.

I’m a Richard Bland student and I’m on the pathway to become a business entrepreneur. RBC specializes in delivering a highly personalized university parallel college experience to first and second year students who aspire to a top quality baccalaureate degree. Our students are able to grow and develop and become productive citizens. Let’s where we go. In summer, We provide up to 80% financial assistance for high performing students and intercollegiate athletes.

Our first off features are newly renovated library showcasing work areas for both individual and group study. In addition to the study areas, students have access to computer labs, multimedia resources, and periodicals. It’s An exciting time to be at Richard Bland College. The Richard Bland College Library serves as an innovative and collaborative space for the RBC community And go to RBC dot EDL By providing a wealth of information resources, learning technologies, study spaces, and academic support services Like an econ history. Within this space, we find our guided Pathways for Success program, which provides each student with a dedicated learner mentor. That’s a really good opportunity. I would love to do that.

Our learner mentors use real time information to advise students on how to stay on course to graduate and transfer to the college or university of their choice.

It’s an amazing program. Our next stop is the prime focal point of the campus, the headquarters, where all of your student success happens.

I found myself a situation. It’s the new RBC Academic Innovation Center Full And Complication. We call it the A IC, our Epicenter for all new technology.

Now let’s check out the facility. The new RBC Academic Innovation Center is a 24,000 square foot facility. It features a host of modern classrooms, offices, and collaboration spaces. Our admissions enrollment | management team is located here. I’m outside one of my favorite areas, the sky fold room.

You are going to be leaders at Richard Bland College. This multipurpose conference room is sustainable with an expandable space that allows for phenomenal operation performance. Jacob Moreno came up with psychodrama. Now let’s head down to our new virtual reality classroom.

This is where students can use state-of-the-art technology to advance their academic studies. The A IC also features private, cozy individual carols to suit your needs. We have several relaxing on this offering, spectacular campus views. Hey, let’s enter the eSports room, which has state-of-the-art gaming equipment. Do you think that’s awesome? Here’s how RBC is using ai unlike any other college in the Mid-Atlantic.

I’m here to show that we can collaborate and coexist beneficially Meet Amika. She’s my fav. My core purpose to foster meaningful connections between humans and technology. And you can meet her right here at RBC. Now, before we head to our one button studio, let’s head to the coffee bar. How about a latte light on the whipped cream and a heavy shot of caramel?

You are taking me back to the sleepless nights phone calls and candle Lights. Now that I’m all fueled up, let’s head over to our new podcast recording Rooms where we’re looking to create some of the best student produced work in the country.

Our one button studio is a user-friendly state of the art recording space with green screen. It’s designed to tell your story by hosting a podcast of your own. Whoa. Check out Ernst Hall.

We’ll be going there soon. Want to take a nice relaxing walk? RBCs campus is home to Virginia’s oldest and largest pecan grove, featuring more than 1000 trees. This unique venue welcomes thousands for music in the grove.
if you love me, won’t you say something? Yeah. Come on now. If you love me, won’t you say something?
Our annual Pecan Festival also attracts 15,000 visitors to campus each year. And if you are into Sports, statesman Hall is the proud home of Richard Bland.

Athletics. RBC host is 14 intercollegiate teams, soccer, baseball, volleyball, basketball. And that’s just to name a few. Okay, it’s time for classes. Let’s take a look at Ernst Hall. Ernst Hall is an energy efficient building that houses humanities and social science classrooms with a spacious art lab and a 200 plus seat auditorium. As you can see, this is a top of the line auditorium. It’s used for classes, concerts, and some of the best movies available. It’s an awesome space.

Now let’s head into James b McNair Hall. McNair Hall features classrooms. Talking about the brain stem And labs for mathematics. Take the time and plug it back in. The natural sciences voltage changes as you go around in a circuit And information technology. Now our final stop is home. It’s a pictures and relaxing.

Walk back to our beautiful residence halls. This is your home away from home. We like to call it RBC Cribs.
Let’s go inside and check out our apartment style of living. The living room features a large window sofa, armchair tables, and there’s a modern day kitchen.

Each apartment has up to four bedrooms and two bathrooms, allowing for plenty of personal space. There’s everything I need within my own living Space. It’s cozy. I love living on campus because everything is so close together. Well, we’ve run out of time with still a lot more to see, so we invite you to stop by, check us out. For more information, visit our RBC admissions one stop page and sign up for a tour. We can’t wait to see you on campus. I gotta play crew. You gotta look right.

I gotta keep it smooth.