Alongside Southern Virginia Higher Education Center Executive Director Dr. Betty H. Adams and other distinguished guests, Governor Terry McAuliffe cuts the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the higher ed center’s IT Academy. Courses will begin in August.

Calling the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center the "home to bold thinkers and innovators" Governor Terry McAuliffe addressed the higher ed center staff and distinguished guests Tuesday before cutting the ribbon on the new addition to the facility, its IT Academy.

The center continues to do big things. Less than a year ago, the facility became a Center of Excellence facility offering three programs: welding, precision machining and industrial maintenance.

The IT Academy (ITA) is a short-term, non-credit training program designed to prepare individuals with the skills and certifications required for employment in Southern Virginia's growing Information Technology sector.

ITA will provide a core curriculum leading to CompTIA certification in A+, Network+ and Server+. Each of these courses will last three to five weeks and provide approximately 100 hours of instruction. Students will be able to complete the entire core curriculum within 90 days.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe came to Danville on Friday to honor the more than $1 million — and a nearly equal amount of hopes — invested into the freshly completed Gene Haas Center for Integrated Machining at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.

The ribbon cutting gathered together a long list of politicians, funders, donors and educators to remark upon and honor the milestone achievement that is the Gene Haas Center. The center, part of the Capstone Integrated Machining Technology project, is a partnership between Danville Community College and the Institute.

With a $1 million Gene Haas Foundation endowment, a $1.9 million Danville Regional Foundation grant and an additional $650,000 worth of Haas Automation equipment, the center is state-of-the-art workflow cell training lab. Funding has come from numerous private sector donors with the majority coming from the Gene Haas Foundation.

$1 Million Endowment Creates One-of-a-Kind Workflow Cell Learning Environment

Governor Terry McAuliffe will provide remarks and participate in the ribbon cutting to officially open the Gene Haas Center for Integrated Machining at The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR). A number of globally recognized partners and Gene Haas, founder and president of Haas Automation, will also be in attendance at a special ribbon cutting in Danville, Virginia on Friday, May 15 at 10:00 a.m. The event will be available via a live webcast stream on IALR's webpage, www.ialr.org.

The Gene Haas Center will include a workflow cell training lab that will provide authentic learning experiences to students who have completed the Integrated Machining Technology Program at Danville Community College (DCC). Not only is the program unique, but it is a game changer for preparing the future workforce. The program will provide a third-year level of learning for students.