Lynchburg News

Growing IT Programs

It was the “Can’t Miss Event of the Summer” as Region 2000 business executives, agency representatives, and Chamber of Commerce presidents and vice-presidents from Lynchburg, Amherst, Appomattox, Altavista and Bedford gathered with staff and faculty members of the Lynchburg Campus during a special evening celebration to hear about an exclusive new Information Systems Engineering (ISE) program now available at the campus. The Riverside Foyer of the newly revitalized Craddock Terry Hotel in downtown Lynchburg was the setting for a well-received presentation by Tom Jackson (pictured), Institutional Director of IT Programs for National College.

Tom presented exciting details about the new program. He explained that Virginia leads the nation in technology growth and Region 2000 is a key growth area with technology outpacing all other sectors. The new ISE program at National is the only program of its type being offered at any of the region’s colleges. Additionally, guests learned that students of the program can take no-cost refresher courses as a lifetime benefit.  It was expressed that with a field such as IT that changes every two years, this is an exceptional benefit to students, employees of area companies, and their employers.  The consensus from those in attendance was that the launching of the program is very timely and will be a great asset to the region.

Campus Director Bill Baker welcomed the guests from more than 20 regional businesses and agencies including Virginia’s Region 2000 Partnership Local Government Council, Young Professionals of Central Virginia, Virginia Employment Commission, The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research, Lynchburg Community Action Group, and area businesses including Georgia Pacific, Azdel, Inc., Best Buy, Wachovia, Presbyterian Homes and Family Services, Seven Hills Urology Center, Inc., Sweet Briar College, Blue Ridge Business Journal, Bright Services, and BMS Direct.  Pamela Hooper, IT Department Chair for the Lynchburg Campus, addressed questions from the attendees.

In celebration of the new Information Technology (IT) department, the Lynchburg Campus held a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 2nd — the first day of classes for the fall term. Brooke James, Member Relations Manager for the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, joined in the festivities and supplied Campus Director Bill Baker with a giant pair of scissors guaranteed to get the job done!  Currently, eighteen students have enrolled in the exciting new information systems engineering associate degree program, which is the only IT program of its type being offered by any college throughout Region 2000.  A new one-year program in Desktop Support is also available. These programs will fill a much-needed void in Region 2000 by getting qualified computer support technicians into the workforce in two years or less.  No other college in the 2,000 square mile area surrounding Lynchburg offers an equivalent program.

Campus Director Bill Baker is shown cutting the ribbon at the doorway of the new IT Department.