WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Members of the House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness, chaired by Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), today visited the Roanoke Higher Education Center and James Madison University at the invitation of Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), for an informative one-day session on “Building the 21st Century Workforce Through Partnerships in Education and Workforce Preparation.”

          “It is a pleasure for me to host my colleagues from the House of Representatives in the beautiful Shenandoah and Roanoke Valleys,” stated Congressman Goodlatte. “James Madison University’s College of Integrated Science and Technology is a nationally recognized, one-of-a-kind program which has grown from zero to 6,000 students in four years. The Roanoke Higher Education Center is an innovative facility which combines 16 colleges, universities, and other institutions of education. It is my hope that these two unique facilities will serve as models for communities across the nation.”

          Subcommittee members had the opportunity to meet this morning with administrators at James Madison University’s College of Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT), located in Harrisonburg, VA, to tour the ISAT facility and take part in a brief discussion of the program. ISAT aims to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities in businesses relating to science and technology.

          Members also traveled to Roanoke, VA to take part in an afternoon roundtable discussion at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, a collaborative project that serves the people of the Roanoke Valley from high school age through retirement. The Center incorporates state-of-the-art instructional, communications, and computer technology, which support distance learning as well as on-site instruction.

          “These site visits give us the opportunity to meet with area civic, education, and business leaders to discuss the development of curriculum and the use of innovative technology to help meet the demands for a highly skilled 21st Century workforce,” McKeon said. “Leaders in the region’s technology industry were extremely helpful and informative in sharing how their advances in technology have assisted education and training efforts.”

          House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) praised Reps. McKeon and Goodlatte for their leadership on building a competitive workforce for the 21st Century. “As we enter this new age of technology in the 21st Century it is important that all Americans have access to the innovative educational opportunities provided by institutions such as the Roanoke Higher Education Center and James Madison University’s ISAT,” Boehner said.

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