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BY BILL FREEHLING
Germanna Community College's plans to establish a new campus in Stafford County took a step forward last week in the form of a $300,000 grant.
Stafford's Economic Development Authority on July 11 voted to give Germanna the grant over three years. It would start when Germanna establishes a space for classes in Stafford.
The community college--which already has sites in Orange, Spotsylvania and Culpeper counties--is looking for office space in North Stafford. The EDA grant would give Germanna $150,000 during the college's first year in Stafford, followed by $100,000 and then $50,000 in years two and three.
"It's the best investment the EDA has made in decades," said Stafford Economic Development Director Tim Baroody. "This fills a gap for our community."
Stafford residents wanting to take classes at Germanna now have to make the long commute down Interstate 95 to the Fredericksburg-area campus off Exit 126.
Germanna wants to offer classes specifically relevant to Stafford, including workforce training for the well-paying defense and government contracting jobs the county is trying to attract.
Germanna hopes to open a Stafford location in time for the start of the spring 2009 semester, but that's considered a best-case scenario. The college has had a hard time finding well-located and affordable office space.
The school put out its first formal request for lease proposals early this year, said Rick Brehm, Germanna's vice president for administrative services. The school wants between about 7,000 and 10,000 square feet in a visible North Stafford location with ample parking.
Germanna got proposals from Aquia Town Center and from the North Stafford Center for Business & Technology on State Route 610. Both charged more than the college could afford.
The school plans to put out another request for proposals in the next few weeks. This time Germanna is looking into a five-year initial lease instead of one that lasts two years, in hopes that the rate will be lower. Germanna officials are out looking for space themselves, and Stafford's economic development officials are assisting.
Germanna officials hope that the space they'll lease will be just a temporary site. The school wants to eventually build its own campus in Stafford; its other three sites were all built on donated land. Brehm said the school is actively soliciting donations that could help the eventual development of a Stafford campus.
In the meantime, Germanna plans to offer some classes this fall at the University of Mary Washington graduate campus on U.S. 17 in Stafford, and also at the nearby Geico building. There are also classes in Stafford high schools.
The $300,000 came from a fee that MediCorp Health System paid the EDA for bonds issued to finance the hospital being built in Stafford, Baroody said.
Brehm said it might take Germanna five years to build up enough enrollment in North Stafford to allow the school to break even there. The EDA's grant will help with that.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
Just a week into her new job as Germanna Community College’s vice president for workforce development, Jeanne Wesley was already making plans for a “road show” through the school’s large service area.
Wesley has responsibility for all non-credit courses and workforce training at Germanna. She wants to meet with business leaders and economic development officials to gauge what services they want Germanna to provide.
“We believe the community college should be a strong partner,” said Wesley, who started July 7.
That means offering classes that train area residents for all types of jobs offered locally—from entry-level positions to high-paying defense and government contracting jobs. Wesley thinks the current global economy demands lifelong learning.
Wesley comes to Germanna after 15 years at Texas State Technical College in Marshall, Texas, where she was an associate vice president. She has a Ph.D. in educational administration and human resource development from Texas A&M University.
Wesley, who is living in Spotsylvania County, was drawn to the area both by its natural beauty and by its potential for booming economic growth. She wants to make Germanna a key partner in that growth.
“I was absolutely taken with the region and the college,” Wesley said. “I couldn’t resist.”
Wesley wants to hear from area residents about what kind of workforce training is needed. She can be reached at jwesley@germanna.edu.
—Bill Freehling
