Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 13, 1995                   TAG: 9510130066
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

4-YEAR COLLEGE NEEDED?

The projected enrollment is based solely on students from public high schools in the Roanoke Valley and from Virginia Western Community College who would likely attend the school.

It does not include students from high schools and community colleges outside the Roanoke Valley or private schools, said John Keyser of BKW Research Group Inc. of Salem, which conducted the survey.

"This is a clear message that we need a four-year, state-supported school in the valley," said former Rep. Jim Olin, a member of the Citizen's Committee for Higher Education.

"There is a clear demand for a public college or university. It would be a boon for industry and the whole community," Olin said Thursday at a news conference to release the survey results.

The Roanoke Valley is the largest metropolitan area in Virginia - and one of the largest in the Southeast - without a four-year public college or university.

The committee was formed three years ago to study the idea of a state-supported college in Roanoke.

Keyser, a professor at Roanoke College, said researchers conducted telephone interviews with 421 students - 221 students at Virginia Western who plan to transfer to a four-year school and 200 students from Roanoke Valley high schools.

Three-fourths of the students said they would consider attending a four-year public college in the valley; half of those students said they would "likely" attend. Those findings were used to calculate the projected enrollment at the proposed college, he said.

Olin acknowledged that it might be difficult to get state money for a new college in the current funding and political climate, but he said "that won't last forever."

The former congressman said he believes state officials will recognize the need for a state college in Roanoke at some point. The committee has no estimate of the cost of starting a new school.

Lawrence Hamlar, another committee member said the group recognizes that funds are in short supply, but there would be no need for a lot of money for "bricks and mortar" and a new campus.

There are facilities at Virginia Western, and the old Norfolk Southern Corp. office buildings near Hotel Roanoke can be used, Hamlar said.

Rupert Cutler, executive director of Explore Park, said a proposed educational center, classrooms and laboratories at the park could become the college's life-science campus.

Hamlar said one possibility would be to upgrade Virginia Western to a four-year school, but he said that apparently would require a change in state law.

James Cosby, another committee member, said that if the valley can come up with $40 million for the Hotel Roanoke renovation, $7 million for a pedestrian walkway over the NS tracks and $10 million for a baseball stadium in Salem, it can provide local funds for a four-year college.

Virginia Western supports the committee's effort and agrees that a college is needed, said Andy Archer, dean of academic and student affairs at the community college.

Virginia Western's agreement with Radford University and Old Dominion University to offer bachelor's degrees in some fields at the community college campus is an attempt to meet part of the demand for a four-year school in the valley, Archer said.

Olin said the Radford and Old Dominion programs at Virginia Western should help build support for a public college.

"These cooperative agreements are a way of getting started. Ultimately, you would get to a point that you would need the programs here," Olin said.

Roanoke and Hollins colleges support the committee's efforts, Olin said, but Virginia Tech said funding problems prevent it from helping to establish a new college.

"Because of the substantial reduction of state funds it has suffered, Tech said it doesn't have the money now to move any undergraduate programs to Roanoke," Olin said.

The survey showed that a four-year public college in the valley might attract many students who otherwise would attend Virginia Tech. The top three college preferences for the students responding to the survey were: Virginia Tech, 29 percent; Roanoke College, 15 percent; and Radford University, 14 percent.