NRCC Dr. Robert Brandon Inauguration Program

About New River Community College New River Community College is a two-year institution of higher learning serving those who live in the counties of Floyd, Giles, Pulaski, Montgomery, and the city of Radford. The college traces its roots to 1959 when it began operating as a vocational school to residents in the New River Valley. It is one of five colleges which developed from existing vocational/technical schools into community colleges under 1966 General Assembly legislation which formed the Virginia Community College System. The college, named New River Community College in 1969, continued to offer occupational/technical education degrees in Machine Shop, Drafting and Design, Auto Mechanics, Practical Nursing, Industrial Electricity, Electronics, Instrumentation, Clerk Typing, and Stenography. Programs leading to the associate in applied science degree in accounting, business management and secretarial science were added in 1970. Degree programs designed for transfer to four-year colleges were also offered at that time. These included the Associate of Arts Degree program in Liberal Arts and the Associate in Science Degree programs in Science, Education, Business Administration and General Studies. Since that time, other college transfer and career/technical education programs have been added to round out specialized programs at NRCC. Located on a 100 acre campus in Dublin, the college also provides off-campus instruction at its site in Christiansburg, located inside Uptown Christiansburg, and at other locations across the New River Valley. Today, new programs are available to help make higher education more affordable to NRV residents. For example, the NRCC Educational Foundation, with the support of local governments, private donors, businesses and organizations, has funded the Access to Community College Education (ACCE) program which covers the cost of tuition for recent high school graduates. Through a state grant, the Office of Workforce Development offers tuition assistance for short-term training that prepares residents for employment in high-demand jobs in the New River Valley, and Virginia’s G3 program also provides significant support for students.

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