New LFCC Luray campus aims to lure Rapp students
Lord Fairfax Community College’s future Luray campus is taking shape.
“It's going to be an awesome campus, right beside Walmart,” says Rappahannock County Supervisor and LFCC board member Debbie Donehey (fellow Rappahannock member Mike Wenger, it’s worth noting, is up for vice chair of LFCC’s board).
Dr. Kim Blosser, LFCC president, says academic highlights of the modern campus will include a computer lab “where we plan to be able to o er our Cyber Security degree,” and a health professions lab geared toward Physical Therapy Assisting, “the only place the PTA program will be o ered for LFCC, CNA, phlebotomy, certi ed medical assistant, and others as we determine the demand,” she notes.
In addition, the campus will feature a general science lab for anatomy and physiology, biology, geology, and chemistry; a trades lab for workforce programs such as heavy equipment operating; and of course general purpose classrooms.
“We're most excited about the addition
of the cybersecurity program, the Physical Therapy Assisting degree program — in collaboration with Germanna Community College and Valley Health — and the additional trades programs,” says Blosser.
“We've talked with the Rappahannock County School system,” the president adds, “that this gives them an opportunity to take their students to another LFCC location for a tour so students know they can go either direction depending on what program they might be interested in — and where they live in Rappahannock County.” Donehey couldn’t agree more. “This additional campus, less than thirty minutes from Sperryville, will provide the citizens of Rappahannock County another great option for advanced education,” she tells the News.
The current LFCC Luray-Page County Center is located in an old portion of the Wrangler jeans plant on Hawksbill Street in Luray. The 6 acres of land for the new campus, within sight of Route 211, was donated by Russell and Elta Rae Jenkins and son and daughter-inlaw Rodney and Karen.
LFCC additionally has campuses in Middletown in Frederick County, and in Warrenton and Vint Hill in Fauquier County.
Founded in 1970, the college serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions, including Rappahannock, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah and Warren counties, and the city of Winchester.
All told, LFCC o ers more than 75 associate degree and certi cate programs in a wide variety of disciplines, in addition to providing access to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs o ered on site by a four-year institution. It serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually. The college also serves the business community by o ering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers.