Virginia Western Community College

From 1956 to 1959 Virginia mandated Massive Resistance against the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown decision desegregating public education. In 1958, business leaders from around the state created the Virginia Industrialization Group to oppose Massive Resistance and reverse the damage it had done to education and the economy. Their efforts helped establish a system of technical colleges in 1964 that evolved into the Virginia Community College System in 1966. Roanoke Technical Institute, a branch of Virginia Tech, was combined with the University of Virginia’s Roanoke Center to form what became Virginia Western Community College. This was the first community college to open under the new system.

Department of Historic Resources, 2023