VWCC — A Local Jewel

Hayden Hollingsworth
Hayden Hollingsworth

Colonial Avenue is a major thoroughfare that bisects the campus of Virginia Western Community College. It has not always been so. It used to be a country road that meandered in the general direction of Starkey but it had an unfortunate name: Poor House Road.

Right after World War II driving south one could see on the left an old brick building sitting on the hill. It was where homeless people spent their last years. No one seemed to know much about the place, but everyone assumed it was dismal. On the opposite side of Poor House Road where Fishburn Park Elementary School now is situated was a cluster of cardboard shacks thrown up overnight for veterans retuning from the service. The rent was next to nothing and that was probably a fair price, considering how shoddy they were. Within a few years they were vacant and soon torn down; The Poor House continued to look more forlorn as time went by.

Then things began to change. Towers Shopping Center was built. The WDBJ radio transmitter was located on the corner of Brandon and the newly named Colonial Avenue. CVS Pharmacy occupies that space now.

Where the concept of a community college was conceived is unclear but soon educational innovators were realizing that something was needed for those students who had finished high school but wanted further education. College was not an option for many and the system of community colleges was started in Virginia in 1966 by Governor Mills Godwin. Two campuses were opened that year with 7500 students. By 1972 the 23rd and final campus was opened; it was named the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in honor of the late Lt. Governor whose life was cut short by a brain tumor.

By 1987 a program was introduced where high school students could have dual enrollment in community college to better prepare them for entering the work force on completion of high school. In 2002 the community college system began a recovery program for high school dropouts aimed toward qualifying them for better jobs. In 2004 Virginia Tech signed an agreement for guaranteed community college graduates. Since that time the aim has been to make entry into a four year college or the workforce a primary focus. The 23 campuses now have more than a quarter million students and an additional 177,000 in workforce development services and other non-credit customized courses. The community colleges in the densely populated northern Virginia corridor have more than 50,000 students.

That brings us back to Colonial Avenue and Virginia Western Community College which can justifiably be considered one of the larger jewels in the crown of higher education. Standing on the shoulders of predecessor presidents, Dr. Robert H. Sandel has done a remarkable job during his tenure. VWCC was among the initial group of community colleges started in Virginia in 1966. From humble beginnings it has now grown to a study body of over 13,000. The majority of who are from Roanoke or adjacent counties.

Under Sandel’s leadership it is now possible for appropriate high school graduates to attend VWCC tuition free and, if academic criteria are met, they are guaranteed admission to a number of colleges in the state. Their rate of success in those institutions matches that of their peers who started a four year college right out of high school. Twenty-three associate degree programs are offered as well as online educational opportunities.

Under the generosity of local philanthropists excellence in the physical plant has become the norm. The Fralin Science and Health center is but the latest example. A multi-story parking garage and a new math and technology building are in the final planning stage.

I suggest a trip out Colonial Avenue. The Poor House has been closed for decades but the building now is integrated into the VWCC campus. All this progress since 1966; it just goes to show what can happen when dedicated people have a good idea, then set about to make it happen.

Just because you have been out of school a long time doesn’t mean you can’t enroll in a course that interests you. For our community, it is a jewel, indeed!

Hayden Hollingsworth

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Related Articles