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First Lady ‘Dr.’ Jill Biden is a ‘tough to please’ lecturer – but many at Virginia campus don’t even know who she is

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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.

Some of the students at North Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus where Dr. Jill Biden teaches English interviewed this week by The Post did not necessarily know she was married to the President or about the crisis swirling around the First Couple. Here, Dr. Biden is seen addressing her students at the school. Courtesy NOVA Community College
Dr. Jill Biden on the job at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus. Courtesy NOVA Community College

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.

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“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.”

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US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden pictured on June 29. Jill is referred to as “Dr.B” on campus AFP via Getty Images

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.

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Dr. Jill Biden has taught English at the Northern Virginia Community College since 2009

“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.

Northern Virginia Community College. Google Maps
A overhead view of the campus. Google Earth

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.

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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.

Dr. Jill Biden, who received her doctorate in education in 2007, is seen here grading papers aboard Air Force One in 2015 with President Barack Obama. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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.

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“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.”

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Southwest, Central Virginia Weather | 6 p.m. – July 11, 2026

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Southwest, Central Virginia Weather | 6 p.m. – July 11, 2026


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At WSLS, we are committed to informing and delighting our audience. In our commitment to covering our communities with innovation and excellence, we incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our news gathering, reporting, and presentation processes. Read our article to see how we are using Artificial Intelligence.



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Vice President JD Vance eyes estate in Virginia

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Vice President JD Vance eyes estate in Virginia


Vice President J.D. Vance is eyeing a multimillion-dollar estate in Middleburg, Virginia, to serve as a part-time home for his family, according to a report from the Washington Business Journal.

The second family is leasing two of the four properties at Wolver Hill Farm, a sprawling, nearly 500-acre estate situated about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Washington, D.C.

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What we know:

The historic property was acquired five years ago for nearly $9 million by Chuck Kuhn, the owner of J.K. Moving.

According to Michael Neibauer with the Washington Business Journal, there are four homes on the 500-acre property which backs up to the Salamander Middleburg Resort and Spa.

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“I wouldn’t be shocked if the Vance family maybe takes advantage of some of those spa facilities that are celebrated out there,” Neibauer added.

Requests for comment regarding the lease agreements were sent to Kuhn’s company, which has not yet responded.

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The potential move comes at a busy time for the Vances, as Second Lady Usha Vance is currently expecting the couple’s fourth child.

The news has quickly traveled through the heart of Middleburg, a historic town known for its vibrant strip of mom-and-pop shops and popular resorts along East Washington Street.

What they’re saying:

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Business owners along the main thoroughfare were universally aware of their potential new neighbor, though several declined to talk on camera.

The reaction to the Vice President’s potential arrival has been mixed.

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“Well, I figure J.D. is going to—the vice president, excuse me— is going to want to play some golf, and I’m a member of Creighton Farms. So, Mr. Vice President, if you’re watching, you’re always welcome on my tee time,” Upperville resident Luke Mahoney said.

When asked if he has concerns about having a potential Secret Service presence in the community, Mahoney said, “No, it can’t be worse than the people that drive 35 miles an hour on Route 50 during commute times. I think they’re very professional; they do a great job. I’m not really that worried about it.”

The Source: This information is from the Washington Business Journal and FOX5 DC reporting. 

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Vance leasing part of multimillion-dollar Virginia farm as an additional residence | CNN Politics

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Vance leasing part of multimillion-dollar Virginia farm as an additional residence | CNN Politics


Vice President JD Vance is leasing part of a sprawling, multimillion-dollar property in rural Virginia to serve as an additional residence for his family, two people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The new rental residence is part of the historic Wolver Hill Farm, which spans nearly 500 acres on the outskirts of Middleburg, Virginia, a wealthy enclave located a little more than an hour drive from Washington, DC.

Wolver Hill Farm is owned by a firm led by Charles Kuhn, the founder of a moving company that has moved several presidents into and out of the White House, including President Donald Trump. The company is also a longtime government contractor.

Kuhn in recent years has become one of the largest landholders in Virginia, as well as a major player in the development of data centers across the state. In one deal last November, Kuhn’s company reportedly sold a nearly 100-acre parcel of land to a data center investor for $615 million.

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Vance is renting part of the Middleburg property from Kuhn’s firm primarily for his wife and three kids, in what the people familiar described as an effort to provide them with a greater sense of normalcy away from the scrutiny of Washington. The vice president is expected to stay there on occasion, though he and his family are maintaining their official residence at the Naval Observatory.

In a statement, Vance’s personal attorney, Chris Ashby, said the vice president planned to pay market value for the property.

“The rent will be at fair market value, determined with reference to the rent for comparable properties in the area,” Ashby said.

Kuhn did not respond to a request for comment. The Washington Business Journal first reported that the vice president was leasing part of Kuhn’s Wolver Hill Farm.

Vance is the latest major political figure to establish a retreat near the small but well-heeled town of Middleburg, which has a population under 1,000 residents. Former President John F. Kennedy once owned an estate in the area, while former President Ronald Reagan once rented a home in the area to serve as a base of operations during his 1980 presidential campaign.

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