Virginia
First Lady ‘Dr.’ Jill Biden is a ‘tough to please’ lecturer – but many at Virginia campus don’t even know who she is
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The community college campus where Dr. Jill Biden teaches is just nine miles southwest of the White House.
But it is one of the very few places in the Washington DC area where the rapidly unraveling crisis surrounding President Biden’s re-election is not one of the hot topics – more than 15 students interviewed by The Post this week had not heard of it.
Some students who know “Dr. B,” as she is called by many at the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) campus, did not even realize she is the First Lady – and married to the president.
Most staffers and administrators The Post spoke to declined comment, saying they had been told by NOVA brass not to talk to reporters. Only one staffer, who did not give his name, spoke out about Jill, who has taught English at the college since 2009.
“You know she swans in here with her entourage a couple of times a week and makes everyone call her ‘Doctor,’ he said, referring to the secret service agents who accompany her.
“I don’t know her personally but it’s a little bit of a joke. Most teachers here don’t insist on being called Dr.”
First Lady Jill Biden has famously been “Dr.” Jill Biden since 2007, when she was awarded her doctorate in education, or Ed.D., from the University of Delaware.
Her dissertation was on community colleges, titled “Student retention at the community college: meeting students’ needs.”
“I stay out of politics and I don’t watch the news,” a 20-year-old Afghani student who was almost fully veiled told The Post as she walked down one of the paved walkways to the campus store. “I know Dr. B. I almost took her class.”
Others who do know Jill Biden is also FLOTUS did not know there was a controversy over her 81-year-old husband’s cognitive abilities and whether or not he would be capable of governing for the next four years, after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump last week.
“What, he might have dementia?” said one of two young, American-born male students leaving campus for the day when approached by a Post reporter and asked about the controversy over the president. “I feel so bad for him. Is that really true? That’s so sad. I heard about the debate, but not this.”
Two American-born students playing ping-pong outside the student center, just across from the building housing Jill Biden’s classroom, said they were first-year students but did not know the first lady taught at the school.
Only one student, Chris Bladen, agreed his name could be used and he said he didn’t want to say anything bad about Jill Biden or her husband “because I might be the biggest Trump-hater in the world. I just wish we had better candidates.”
In fairness, as Jill Biden herself indicated to Vogue this month, a number of the students at NOVA’s Alexandria campus are recent immigrants and can’t necessarily be expected to know the nuances of American politics. Others, she said, are older women looking to re-enter the workforce.
“Whatever I give them,” she told Vogue, “it has to be short. Because they leave my class and go straight to work, many of them. They may work until eight o’clock, then they have to do my homework, and they might have kids, too, or parents to take care of.”
She also told Vogue she often assigns “articles” rather than books because books are expensive – but said she does like to assign students Trevor Noah’s 2019 memoir, “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.”
NOVA accepts 100 percent of its applicants and some of the 14,000 in attendance at the Alexandria campus are Afghani immigrants.
Alexandria, which is a sanctuary city, has just one public high school with many Afghan refugees, a number of whom come to NOVA.
A spokesperson for NOVA didn’t provide a comment to The Post by press time, while a representative for Jill Biden didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Dr. Biden, who taught as recently as May but does not appear to be on the summer teaching schedule, received a grade of 4.5 out of a possible 5 score on the “Rate my professors” site.
Many reviewers praise her, a few say she is not that organized — but the majority of them agree she is a tough grader.
“Am I allowed to say something mean?” asked one US-born student who did not want to give his name but said he had taken one class with her. “Because she’s kind of mean. I had one class with her. I didn’t really like her. It was impossible to please her.”
Prior to coming to NOVA, Jill Biden spent 15 years as a professor at Delaware Technical Community College and before that she was a high school teacher.
Jill Biden got considerable flack after her husband was elected president in Nov. 2020 for insisting on the “Dr.” title. Interestingly, her first Vogue cover, in June 2021, included the title on the cover. This month’s cover story did not.
“You can tell someone is smarting from an inferiority complex when he insists on being addressed as “Dr.” on the basis of holding an academic doctorate rather than being a physician,” Kyle Smith wrote in the National Review in Dec. 2020.
“Ph.D. holders who have genuine accomplishments don’t make you call them “Doctor,” which is why you never hear about “Dr. Paul Krugman” and “Dr. George Will.” None of the professors I knew at Yale, even the ones who were eminent in their fields, insisted on the title, and I think most of them would have scoffed if someone had addressed them as “Dr.”
In a 2021 Washington Post profile of Jill Biden, the educator included glowing reviews by some of her former students.
“She never really addressed the whole thing about being Jill Biden,” said Juliette Rosso, who had Biden as an English professor in 2017. “She was genuine, and she was humble.”
Mikaela Stack told the paper about Biden: “She cares deeply. She’s incredibly engaging and challenging and kind.”
Hopwood & LaRue Catering and Events at the University of Lynchburg has been named a “2026 Top Wedding Vendor” by Virginia Living magazine.
Hopwood & LaRue was listed among Central Virginia vendors in the following categories: Catering, Venue-Event Space, and Venue-Gardens & Estates. For earning a top spot, vendors are listed in the digital “2026 Top Wedding Vendors” guide and receive a virtual badge to share on their website.
According to Virginia Living, the annual list spotlights “vendors who help make Virginia weddings truly unforgettable — from florists and photographers to venues, planners, and more. … This exclusive online list is a companion to ‘Weddings 2026,’ featured in our February issue, one of the year’s most anticipated editorial sections.”
Through Hopwood & LaRue Catering and Events couples can plan weddings at University-owned facilities, including Snidow Chapel and Claytor Nature Center’s Cloverlea Farmhouse.
The company also offers event planning and a full range of beverage and catering services, including vegan, vegetarian, and ethnic options, along with “special curated menus” designed to help clients “develop their ideal cocktail hour and reception dinner experience for themselves and their guests.”
Referring to the 491-acre Claytor Nature Center specifically, Marsh described a typical event: “On their special day, the wedding ceremony typically takes place at the reflection pond, which holds a magical view of Sharp Top and Flat Top mountains,” she said.
“Cocktail hour is then enjoyed [on] the ash lawn, and the reception dinner is later paired with desserts, drinks, and dancing under our extra-large, tented reception area. And the sunset views are just as exceptional as the dining experience.”
According to Marsh, Hopwood & LaRue’s wedding sales have “increased significantly in the past year, and our Cloverlea wedding bookings have quadrupled since 2025. We now have over a dozen weddings and events lined up at Cloverlea for 2026 and are excited to book more and also look ahead into 2027.”
UC Bearcats coach Wes Miller, Jalen Celestine plus WVU reaction
UC Bearcats coach Wes Miller, Jalen Celestine plus WVU reaction on Mountaineers win
MORGANTOWN, WV – The Cincinnati Bearcats have started Big 12 play in a hole, losing to West Virginia on the road Tuesday night, Jan. 6, 62-60. UC came back from a 13-point deficit in the first half, had a late lead, but for a second straight Big 12 game couldn’t close.
Up 57-52 with 4:46 to go on a Moustapha Thiam dunk, the Bearcats wouldn’t score again until a Jizzle James 3-pointer with three ticks left on the clock. They would get a final steal and a desperation heave that didn’t fall, and now are winless in two Big 12 starts with 16 remaining on the schedule.
The Mountaineers have recorded all of their wins at Hope Coliseum and are 10-5 (1-1) while UC drops to 8-7 (0-2). Hope Coliseum attendance was 9,903.
Honor Huff led West Virginia with 24 points and, at 5-foot-10, pulled down eight rebounds. Chance Moore added 14 points and Treysen Eaglestaff had 10, including the go-ahead 3-point heave with 1:12 left in the game.
“We’ve got to finish, we had a five-point lead there,” Miller said. “The shot Eaglestaff hits, you’ve just got to go play the next possession. You can’t defend it any better than that. You can’t foul the 3-point shooter (Huff) and we’ve got to step up and make some plays. We’ve got to convert more plays. Sometimes, guys are going to jump up and make a crazy shot. That’s just basketball.”
It’s the first loss this season for the Bearcats when they’ve led with two minutes remaining in the game. Last season, they were 19-0 in such situations, and overall, Wes Miller’s teams are now 88-8. But, on this night, Eaglestaff was “eagle eye” avoiding a shot-clock violation and nailing a “prayer” in Miller’s terms.
“I picked it up and was looking for Honor (Huff) because he was the hot hand,” Eaglestaff said. “I’m looking for him and I heard ‘3-2-1, I’ve got one second left, I’ve got to throw it up!’ I’m like praying, ‘Please go in!’”
As called by a couple of coaches as he released it, it tickled the nylons and gave West Virginia the lead for good.
Jalen Celestine led UC with five treys and 15 points. Day Day Thomas had nine points, making a pair of second-half 3s early to give UC a brief lead early in the second half, but didn’t score over the final 18:30.
The Bearcats were 12-of 35 from the arc, with West Virginia making 11-of-23. West Virginia takes a 14-12 lead in the all-time series and has now won eight of the last 10 meetings. In the Big 12, the Mountaineers are now 4-2 against the Bearcats and have won the last three contests.
“When you win a game like that, you feel really fortunate,” West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said. “A lot of things had to go right in the last four-minute stretch. They had a belief that they could still win the game, not necessarily knowing how we were going to win it, but just our belief that we could still win it.”
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UC’s Wes Miller: Us against world
Miller made the comment on his post-game radio show with Dan Hoard and Terry Nelson. When asked in the post-game media conference, he clarified.
“I think our locker room has to have that mentality,” Miller said. “The noise is loud and people are going to doubt and everybody’s going to be against us. If we’d have won the last two games it wouldn’t be that way. Sometimes you have to recognize that’s fickle. We have to just make sure we stay tight and resilient as a team and we will. We’re right there very night against really good teams. We’ve just got to keep pounding the rock. It’ll crack.”
Top scorer Jalen Celestine, UC’s second-oldest next to Kerr Kriisa, agreed.
“We’re only two games in the Big 12,” Celestine said. “We’ve got a lot of basketball left.”
Tyler McKinley, Kerr Kriisa injury updates
Kerr Kriisa was greeting West Virginia friends in sweats before the game and did not play. He was officially listed “out” on the Big 12 game day injury report. Kriisa was recruited by Bob Huggins and played for the Mountaineers in 2023-24, including three games against UC.
As for Kriisa’s next availability, Miller said it was “day to day”.
Tyler McKinley practiced in Morgantown on Monday and was available for Tuesday’s game. Still, Halvine Dzellat was the first post player off the bench.
“I thought he looked good tonight,” Miller said. “I thought that was the best he’s looked. Yesterday (Jan. 5) was the first time he’s practiced since the day before the Georgia game (Dec. 13). It feels like ages ago. He looked good and felt good.”
McKinley finally came in at 8:57 of the first half and 47 seconds scored his first points since the Xavier game. Before halftime, he made a putback that cut the West Virginia lead to three points at the break. He finished with six points, making all three of his shots in just under nine minutes on the court.
West Virginia’s Brenen Lorient, a 6-foot-9 forward, didn’t play vs. No. 3 Iowa State, but returned against the Bearcats.
Cincinnati Bearcats dig early hole
Treysen Eaglestaff had the first five points of the game for West Virginia. UC got it to 10-6 less than five minutes in on a turnaround jumper by Thiam, then they would score for nearly four and a half minutes. West Virginia’s biggest lead was 19-6.
Within six minutes, UC was able to whittle it down to 25-24, as the crowd let out a handful of boos. McKinley’s putback before half cut the deficit to three at 31-28.
The Bearcats came back to lead early in the half, and again late in the game with an 11-0 run that flipped the script from 52-46 WVU to 55-52 UC with a timeout at 3:49. The lead would go to 57-52 before the Bearcats went cold once again.
Honor Huff hoists
The 5-foot-10 transfer from Chattanooga was hot early in the half, making his first five shots before finishing the stanza 5-for-9 with 16 points. The Bearcats were more effective with him in the second half. But late, Huff delivered with his final 3-pointer and a pair of clutch free throws. He was 6-for-10 from the arc, but was most impressed with his eight rebounds among UC’s towers.
“That’s good for me, eight rebounds,” Huff said. “I’m going to have to help no matter what my size is. I put emphasis on putting myself in the right positions to grab rebounds.”
Baba Miller, 13 inches taller than Huff at minimum, led UC with seven rebounds. West Virginia beat the Bearcats on the boards 37-33.
10 Bearcats played before halftime
Down 13 with some of the starters cold, Wes Miller played 10 guys in the first half, including McKinley’s first minutes since the Georgia game.
“Kerr’s injury has been difficult,” Miller said. “We were starting to find real rhythm with older players. Kerr goes down and that’s difficult, but we have some young guys that are ready to contribute.”
Miller mentioned Keyshuan Tillery, who played almost nine minutes and hit a big 3-pointer and Shon Abaev (four points in less than 12 minutes), making key plays in the second half.
“He’s been waiting to break out,” Miller said. “It’s coming.”
Cincinnati Bearcats injuries have been critical
“It’s been something like I’ve never experienced, because it’s been so inconsistent,” Miller said. “Jalen Celestine with the back, we’re getting him where he can practice. T-Mac (McKinley) has been up and down. Kerr now, Jalen Haynes (transfer big man still out). It’s felt like one thing after another. It’s been hard to figure out and Jizzle wasn’t with us. There’s been quite a lot to deal with in terms of roster consistency. It hasn’t been the easiest month, but good things are ahead for us.”
Cincinnati Bearcats Big 12 schedule
The Bearcats are back on the road in Orlando, where Moustapha Thiam returns to face his old UCF team on Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. The Knights played in Stillwater against Oklahoma State Tuesday night, Jan. 6. The Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 14 vs. Colorado at 7 p.m.
VIRGINIA (7News) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares urged all Virginia public schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism (IHRA definition) into their codes of conduct and anti-discrimination policies.
His office pointed to a 25 percent increase in reported hate crimes statewide in 2024, with crimes involving anti-Jewish bias rising 155 percent – the sharpest increase among all categories tracked by Virginia State Police in their most recent annual crime report.
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In the letter addressed to superintendents and school boards sent Monday, Miyares states Jewish students “have been excluded, harassed, threatened, and even assaulted.” Miyares pointed to the U.S. Department of Education using the IHRA definition to enforce Title VI and to the Commonwealth’s 2023 adoption of the non-legally binding definition “as a tool and guide for training, education, recognizing, and combating antisemitic hate crimes or discrimination and for tracking and reporting antisemitic incidents in the Commonwealth.”
“Thus, the law of the Commonwealth requires use of IHRA to ‘recognize’ the discriminatory motive behind antisemitic conduct and act upon such discrimination findings pursuant to the Virginia Human Rights Act,” Miyares wrote in the letter, adding: “As part of your compliance with Federal and Virginia law, you must implement the [HRA definition and its contemporary examples into your codes of conduct and discrimination policies to assess unprotected activity.”
7News has reached out to Northern Virginia school districts for their response to Miyares’ letter.
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