CVCC to open satellite center in Amherst

By Christa Desrets

Published: November 22, 2008

After several years in the making, Central Virginia Community College’s satellite center in Amherst will open Dec. 15 with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

 
WHAT: CVCC Amherst Center ribbon cutting ceremony
WHEN: Monday, Dec. 15 at 3 p.m.
WHERE: Mountainview Plaza, at 200 Richmond Highway in Amherst
INFO: For more information or to apply to the college, visit http://www.cv.cc.va.us

Classes will begin Jan.12, said Don Sutton, the college’s vice president for institutional advancement, and the new center is projected to eventually service 250 students.

The Lynchburg campus already includes about 500 stu-dents from Amherst County, he said, but not all will attend the new center.

The first year will likely draw in about 125 students, according to previous interviews with Stan Shoun, the college’s vice president of workforce development and continuing education.

Included in that, Sutton said, is 18 students from Amherst County High School who are enrolled in a program through CVCC to earn their associate’s degree while in high school.

Classes offered at the site will focus on general education subjects such as math, English, history, economics, business, philosophy and psychology.

Sutton said he is thankful for the city, county and state offi-cials who campaigned for years to get funding for the center.

“The vast majority of the credit belongs there,” he said.

In March, Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, sponsored a $300,000 appropriation from the General Assembly to renovate the old pharmacy building in Mountainview Plaza, off U.S. 29.

Now construction is done, Sutton said, and it’s time for the finishing touches.

“They did the walkthrough on Friday (Nov. 14),” he said. “What we’re working on now is getting the signage up, and we have bids out for that.”

The Amherst Center will be the community college’s fifth satellite branch. Besides the school’s main campus in Lynchburg, centers also operate in Altavista, Appomattox, Bedford and Brookneal.