Welcome to the Web site of the Roanoke Higher Education Center!

Making higher education and workforce training accessible in the Roanoke Region to meet the demand for high skilled jobs in the 21st Century is our mission.

When our doors opened in August of 2000, we began to offer a full range of undergraduate and graduate level courses as well as training programs tailored to meet the needs of workers in the region and of industries seeking highly skilled employees.

The six public and eight private colleges and universities partnering in this Center include: Averett University, Bluefield College, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Ferrum College, Hampton University, Hollins University, Mary Baldwin College, Old Dominion University, Radford University, Roanoke College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Western Community College. In addition, This Valley Works offers job-training programs as a partner in the Center. The Center is also home to the Blue Ridge Technical Academy operated by the Roanoke City Public Schools, the New Century Technology Council, and the Western Virginia Workforce Development Board.

The Roanoke Higher Education Center began with an initial $200,000 appropriation, obtained in the 1996 session of the General Assembly, to study the cost and feasibility of renovating the old Norfolk-Southern General Office Building-North in downtown Roanoke.

Subsequently, a group of business, civic and education leaders formed Destination Education to promote the project.

In 1998 and 1999, the Virginia General Assembly appropriated $9 million and the City of Roanoke contributed $2.5 million to renovate the Norfolk Southern building, which was donated by the Norfolk-Southern Corporation. This historically and architecturally significant building, built in 1931 and used by the railroad during the Industrial Age, will be preserved and used for higher education and training in the new Information Age of the 21st century.

The Roanoke Higher Education Authority, established in 1998 by legislation, developed and now operates the Center.

The synergy created by the Roanoke Higher Education Center will continue downtown revitalization, preserve the historic building and help build a better future for our region through education and training.

It has been said that widespread access to higher education is critical to the economic health and social welfare of the nation. We believe the Roanoke Higher Education Center is critical to the continuing prosperity of our region of Virginia.

John S. Edwards
Member, Senate of Virginia
Chairman, Board of Trustees, Roanoke Higher Education Authority