Southwest Virginia Highlands Education Center Adds Research and Development Program
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Almost 20 years ago, the state of Virginia wanted to do something about the lack of higher-education opportunities in the rural areas. In 1998, it opened the doors to the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, and the results have surpassed expectations.
“We knew going into this that we were going to be providing a service in a region that was underserved educationally,” says Rachel Fowlkes, executive director. “We knew there were wonderful universities in Virginia, and that by pooling together our resources we could create opportunities for people in rural areas. But never did we anticipate that we would become the model of how to deliver higher education in that setting.”
The center boasts a conference facility and auditorium, more than 25 classrooms, computer classrooms, a full complement of Internet access, a science lab and more. It has more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degree programs, and more than 1,000 students. In addition to providing educational offerings, it’s the go-to site for local business and industry for meetings and staff development.
It’s that multi-use component of the center that has made it so successful in accomplishing its original mission and more. And a decade into its operation, there are plans to add a research and development center.
“It will be an applied center for university research, but also corporate and private research,” Fowlkes says. “We’ll be focusing on coal and natural gas, which is a big deal in southwest Virginia. The research will focus on extracting it in a more environmentally safe way, and burning it cleaner and with more efficiency.”
The R&D facility will tie into the center’s ongoing workforce development efforts throughout the region, and the degree programs will also dovetail into the research being done at the site.
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Ian Curcio
