The story below is a preview from our January/February 2026 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Building skills and futures in the Roanoke region.
Dr. Kay Dunkley is the Executive Director of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority. She has held a variety of senior leadership roles at Virginia Tech, the Virginia Community College System and in two public school divisions. Dr. Dunkley is passionate about leveraging academic resources to address the workforce training needs of the region.
Learn more about the Roanoke Higher Ed Center and its incredible impact on our region on their website.
Courtesy of Roanoke Higher Education Center
The Roanoke Higher Education Center is a dynamic learning community of colleges and organizations that respond to the evolving needs of the current and future workforce.
What do culinary arts, educational leadership and counselor education students have in common? They may all be studying under the same roof at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, preparing for an in-demand job in the Roanoke region. Every program that is offered in the building prepares individuals for immediate employment in the area, such as those run by Virginia Western Community College (VWCC), James Madison University and Virginia Tech.
2025 marked a major milestone for our organization: 25 years of expanding access to education and workforce development in the Roanoke Valley. Our mission is to develop partnerships and maintain a state-of-the-art facility that provides the citizens of the Roanoke region with access to training, certifications and degrees. Today, we are home to 11 member organizations that offer a range of educational programming, from GED to PhD and other training options that award industry certifications.
Since 2000, the Center has awarded over 17,000 educational outcomes, including 825 in the most recent fiscal year, advancing lifelong learning opportunities across the region. RHEC complements the work of local community colleges by offering higher education and workforce programs not otherwise available in the region.
Filling our Local Workforce Needs
Courtesy of Radford University
The Jo Ann Bingham Clinical Simulation Center is an excellent training experience for those entering the workforce.
The Roanoke Valley is a healthcare-heavy demographic. No matter how many healthcare training programs that we have, I feel there will always be a need for more. The Sovah School of Health Professions, one of our members, offers their Diagnostic Medical Sonography satellite program on site at the RHEC, creating a pipeline of skilled sonographers for local employers. The most recent cohort received job offers upon or shortly after completion of the program.
The nursing program offered by Radford University, as another example, has the greatest number of undergraduate students enrolled at the Center, which speaks to the demand for nurses and interest in the profession. To meet the region’s nursing shortage and accommodate the number of students they could enroll in nursing, Radford University recently expanded their space at the Center by 65% with a major, multi-floor renovation to house their nursing programs.
Further, Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP) joined the Center as a full member this past spring. In the fall, ACP launched their pharmacy education classes, establishing the region’s only pharmacy education program. By offering their accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy degree, Doctor of Public Health and pharmacy technician programs, ACP is addressing the shortage of pharmacists in the Roanoke Valley.
Experiential or hands-on learning opportunities, such as simulated patient care or lab work, help bridge the gap between classroom instruction and career readiness. In a lab setting, students have the chance to learn real-world scenarios, and they also have an opportunity to make a mistake in a safe space and be critiqued by a faculty member. Sovah School of Health Professions, Radford University and Appalachian College of Pharmacy all maintain these labs.
Entry level positions in the workforce require a high school diploma or GED at a minimum. Our partners at Roanoke Valley — Alleghany Region 5 Adult Education — work with local school divisions and community partners to offer GED preparation at the Roanoke Higher Education Center. After completing the class, students take the GED test at our Educational Testing Center (ETC) in the same building. Every year, the ETC administers more than 4,000 academic, professional licensure and industry certifications and exams to learners throughout the Roanoke Valley.
Higher Education Must Adapt to Meet a Changing Workforce
This past spring, RHEC published a workforce review examining employment, education and skill development in GO Virginia’s Region 2. GO VA is a statewide initiative designed to stimulate Virginia’s economic growth through the creation of more higher-paying jobs. Region 2 includes the cities of Covington, Lynchburg, Radford, Roanoke and Salem; and the counties of Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and Roanoke.
Want to learn more about how local higher education is directly training the Roanoke Valley's in-demand workforce? Check out the latest issue, now on newsstands, or see it for free in our digital guide linked below!
The story above is a preview from our January/February 2026 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!