New River Community College

Coordinates: 37°6′18.7″N 80°41′45.5″W / 37.105194°N 80.695972°W / 37.105194; -80.695972

For the West Virginia school, see New River Community and Technical College.
New River Community College
Type public coeducational two-year college
Established 1959
Endowment $1,879,747 [1]
Academic staff
 206 (51 full-time, 155 part-time)
Undergraduates 4,345
Location Dublin, VA, USA
Affiliations Virginia Community College System
Website www.nr.edu

New River Community College (NRCC) is a community college in Dublin, Virginia, United States, in the New River Valley of southwestern Virginia, one of 23 colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). NRCC’s service region covers the counties of Montgomery, Floyd, Pulaski and Giles and the city of Radford.

Facilities

The college is located on a 100-acre site in Dublin(not ireland) . The four-building campus provides modern, well-equipped facilities for vocational/technical programs as well as for university-parallel programs. The college also maintains a site at the New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg. The mall site is a state-of-the-art instructional site operating as a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Center.

History

NRCC opened as New River Vocational-Technical School in 1959 and came under the jurisdiction of the VCCS in 1966. The school's name was changed in late 1969. In November of that same year, the newly named New River Community College broke ground in Dublin. Currently, the college has an average enrollment of approximately 5,000 students.

The college’s current president is Dr. Jack M. Lewis, who has served in that capacity since January 2000. Since 1974, he has provided leadership at NRCC in instruction, student services, distance learning, library and instruction support services, financial services and computing services. Lewis has been instrumental in making NRCC a leader in technology in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Offerings

The college also offers over 180 different distance education (DE) courses. Some degrees and certificates can be completed entirely through these courses. Students may access DE courses through the Internet, via teleconference or through one of NRCC’s dedicated distance learning classrooms or electronic lecture halls. In addition, NRCC has partnered with Old Dominion University's (ODU) Distance Learning program to offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees for distance learners.[2] ODU courses at NRCC are offered online or via video streaming. Linda Claussen is the Director of Distance Education.

NRCC is also a leader in workforce development in its service region, providing credit and non-credit professional development classes, workshops, community interest classes, and adult education programs. Additionally, NRCC’s Office of Workforce Development works with local businesses to provide custom training and credentialing opportunities.

NRCC is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the associate degree.[3]

New River is located in close proximity to Virginia Tech and Radford University. The college holds transfer agreements allowing students to transition easily from studies at NRCC to four-year bachelor's degree programs.

Shooting incident

On April 12, 2013, a gunman opened fire with a shotgun at the campus site at New River Valley Mall. Two women were wounded. An off-duty security guard and two police officers subdued the gunman. The suspected gunman is Neil Allen MacInnis, 18 years old at the time of his arrest, and a resident of Christiansburg. Minutes prior to the attack, a message was posted on 4chan about threats of a shooting that would take place at the exact location. The message also included the name of the suspect, Neil MacInnis. MacInnis is charged with two counts of malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and is held without bond.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ XAP Corporation. "National Application Center :: campus tours :: New River Community College campus highlights". Nationalappcenter.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  2. ↑ ODU at New River Community College, (May 29 2014)
  3. ↑ Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of New River Community College.
  4. ↑ Police: Student shot 2 women at Virginia community college before being subdued, CNN (April 13 2013)
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