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DSLCC celebrates opening of new Rockbridge Center
BUENA VISTA — An open house and ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the new 15,000-square-foot Dabney S. Lancaster Community College Rockbridge Regional Center in Buena Vista were held Oct. 7 with more than 200 dignitaries and guests on hand.
"This new facility is exciting not only for the community, but also for the students we serve," said DSLCC president Dr. Richard R. Teaff, noting the new center is two-and-a-half times larger than the previous location. "From the very first facility we opened here, we recognized the need for increased services and training. And we couldn't have done it without the overwhelming and unwavering support of the cities of Buena Vista and Lexington and Rockbridge County."
The new $1.5 million RRC, at 35 Vista Links Drive, features a computer lab with 24 stations; two compressed video labs (a third will be added in the spring); a testing center with computers used for proctored testing; two traditional lecture classrooms; a conference room and two offices; a health sciences lab; and a greenhouse. The RRC has been open for classes since fall semester began in August. Registration for classes has increased three-fold, and the number of students has doubled, according to Dr. Michael Scott, interim vice president for instruction and student services.
"For too long, the Rockbridge Regional Center hadn't been able to meet the needs of DSLCC's students in Buena Vista, Lexington and Rockbridge County," said Debbie Garrett, Congressman Bob Goodlatte's representative, who spoke on his behalf. "This new facility accomplishes that task … I applaud the regional efforts that resulted in this new center being built in such a cooperative fashion in just about a year's time … This facility will provide benefits to this region for a long time to come."
Also participating in the ceremony were Buena Vista Mayor Mike Clements; Lexington Vice Mayor Tim Golden; Mack Smith of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors; State Sen. Creigh Deeds; House of Delegates member Ben Cline; and Dr. Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College System.
Deeds noted money for the facility shows a tremendous investment not only in the community but in its people.
Cline said the RRC is a wonderful example of communities coming together for the education of its youth.
"When I look at this facility, I think of the people who will come here and whose lives will change," said DuBois. "I applaud the partners who made this happen." He stressed Teaff's leadership in the project.
Clements thanked the college for making Buena Vista its new home; Golden mentioned the years of service the new RRC would provide to the community; and Smith, a former community college student, said it was an example of what cooperation can accomplish.
One new feature is the addition of the culinary arts program, and new kitchen, which Dr. Phil McManus, program head of the culinary arts program, describes as a "fully functional, compartmentalized teaching kitchen, a cross between contemporary and traditional." There are four complete "mini-kitchens" with a stove, mixer, cookware and dishwasher at each station, enabling the instructor to teach a different curriculum at each station and enabling students to complete practical exams.
The greenhouse behind the building will be used by the culinary students for growing herbs and serve as the future location for horticulture classes.
This is the fourth and largest location for the RRC, since DSLCC opened a site to serve the Rockbridge area almost 13 years ago. The RRC first opened in March 1996, in a 1,200-square-foot facility in College Square Shopping center in Lexington; two years later, the center was moved to a larger building, with about 2,400 square feet, just behind Peebles in the same shopping center. As the RRC outgrew that facility, it was moved for the third time to Magnolia Square, with 5,250 square feet of capacity. That center had a reception area, two offices, two regular classrooms, two compressed video labs, a conference room, testing center and computer lab.
The Virginia Military Institute Pipes and Drums initiated the morning ceremony. Musical performances by students from the jazz bands of Parry McCluer High School and Rockbridge County High School were heard afterward; and the Southern Virginia University a cappella group, "Fading Point" and the Washington and Lee University Chamber Singers performed during the evening festivities.
Representatives from the Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Bluefield College, Mary Baldwin College and Roanoke College were on hand to discuss various degree programs that they offer for traditional transfer students and adult learners who wish to pursue a bachelor's degree.
Call the RRC at (540) 261-1211 or email RRC Director Tamra Cottrill at tcottrill@dslcc.edu for more information.
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