The University of Mary Washington Dahlgren Campus Center for Education and Research will officially open on Tuesday, January 3. The university’s third campus is designed to support the advanced educational needs of the professionals on and near the Naval Support Facility (NSF) Dahlgren.
Located just outside NSF Dahlgren in King George County, the 27-acre campus has been under construction since the summer of 2010. The Dahlgren Center will serve as an anchor for the development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy base, higher education institutions and the region’s employers.
The Dahlgren campus will centralize the graduate science and engineering programs currently offered by state institutions on the Naval base and will provide the site for additional educational offerings and workforce training as well as research initiatives. In addition, the facilities will be available for lease for public and private educational and professional events.
“This is a natural partnership for UMW,” said President Richard V. Hurley. “We have literally hundreds of alumni working at the NSF, and many of our faculty members have been affiliated with Dahlgren. Being in even closer physical proximity, we look forward to many more opportunities to share ideas and resources.” Most important, Hurley added, this new center helps meet a key state initiative: increasing the number of facilities that offer science and technology degrees.
Starting in January, academic programs will be available to individuals with access to NSF Dahlgren as well as the general population and employees of local contractors, government agencies and schools.
Four state universities initially will offer Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program graduate courses on the university’s campus – George Mason, Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia Tech along with the Naval Postgraduate School. Germanna and Rappahannock community colleges, along with the Naval War College, are expected to offer courses in 2012. Depending on demand, graduate and undergraduate programs in science, engineering, technology, mathematics and other related fields will be offered. Workforce development programs and educational services will be offered on an as-needed basis.
The two-story, 42,000 square foot, technologically sophisticated building includes 19 classrooms with seating for 12 to 32 students, four group study rooms with collaboration hardware and software and two quiet study rooms with individual workstations. Also, the building includes two computer-enabled classrooms and a computer lab, an executive conference room and a divisible 2,800-square-foot multi-purpose room with theater seating for up to 220 people and instructional/banquet seating for up to 160 people.
State-of-the-art instructional technology systems, video conferencing capabilities and wired and wireless internet access are available throughout the building. Constructed at a cost of more than $20 million, the building is designed to meet or exceed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification requirements, and it includes several environmentally friendly features including low-maintenance landscaping, designated car pool and low-emission vehicle parking spaces, a geo-thermal HVAC system and a vegetative roof.
A second building and additional parking are proposed as part of a second phase.
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News release prepared by: Brynn Boyer
I would certainly be interested in summer courses in math and science at the new Dahlgren campus! Please advise when they become available. Thanks so much!