On Sunday, April 22nd, the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) held a successful open house for its new Innovation Center. More than 300 individuals attended the Open House for a look at the 46,000 sq.ft facility housing the SVHEC’s signature programs in Workforce Services, the Business of Art & Design, and the R&D Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Energy Efficiency.

The entire building was abuzz during the 12-stop interactive tours featuring demonstrations and giveaways. Tour highlights included a demonstration of the R&D Center’s Waterjet Machining Center, a laser engraver yielding wooden business cards, and a faux photo booth featuring the digital photography studio. Aspiring singers or those just wanting to test the equipment had an opportunity to record a one-song CD in one of the audio bays used by Digital Art & Design students.

For many like Zerita Newman, the Innovation Center Open House was the first time they had entered the building and gotten a first-hand look at the many opportunities available in Halifax County. “This was my first time at the Innovation Center, and I really enjoyed it. There were live demonstrations and a lot of things to see. It was a lot of fun,” Newman said.

At its regularly scheduled meeting held March 21st, the SVHEC Board of Trustees unanimously voted Patricia Thomas as Board Chair. Thomas is the Chief Nursing Officer at Halifax Regional Hospital and will serve a term of two years.

Pictured left to right are SVHEC Executive Director Dr. Betty Adams, SVHEC Board Chair Patricia Thomas, and SVHEC Board Vice-Chair Dr. Carlyle Ramsey. The SVHEC Board of Trustees is composed of leaders in education, business, and industry and meets quarterly at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center.

On Friday, March 16th, two representatives from Rolls-Royce Crosspointe visited the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) to meet with senior staff and see a demonstration in the R&D Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Energy Efficiency (R&D CAMEE). Rolls Royce representatives Brian Warner and Sarah Beadle were joined by Katherine DeRosear Director of Workforce Development for Virginia Manufacturers Association) and Dr. Barry Johnson Senior Associate Dean of Electrical Engineering at the University of Virginia on their visit to the SVHEC-Innovation Center.

After hearing an overview of the SVHEC and its R&D CAMEE initiative, the SVHEC visitors toured the R&D Center where they saw a live demonstration of R&D CAMEE’s applied research and advanced manufacturing capabilities. More than just a display of technology, the demonstration was used to highlight a new immersive workforce-training model R&D CAMEE is hoping to implement in the coming months.