NOTE TO REPORTERS:  Area media are invited to the dedication described
below.  For directions to the new center, call U.Va. News Services at
(804) 924 7116.

U.VA., VIRGINIA TECH OFFICIALLY OPEN NEW JOINT CENTER 
TO MEET EDUCATION NEEDS OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA ADULTS 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 7 -- With the cutting of burgundy,
orange and blue ribbons Saturday, March 15, the University of Virginia
and Virginia Tech will dedicate the universities' first permanent home
in Northern Virginia.
	Classes began in January at the new Virginia Tech/University
of Virginia Northern Virginia Center at 7054 Haycock Road in Falls
Church. The universities occupy a 105,000-square-foot facility with
state-of-the art classrooms equipped with fiber optic wiring and
multiple Internet connections.  An uplink allows faculty to teach
courses via satellite, as well as at the site.
	Virginia Tech President Paul E. Torgersen, U.Va. President
John T. Casteen III, and U.S. Senator Charles S. Robb are among those
scheduled to speak at the 11 a.m. dedication of the $16.8 million
center.
	The universities are jointly occupying the center to respond
to Northern Virginia's changing workforce training needs, according to
Stephen D. Gladis, U.Va. Center director.  "The new joint center,
located adjacent to the West Falls Church Metro station, makes us more
accessible to adult learners in Northern Virginia. We are now able to
combine U.Va.'s quality faculty, the latest in technology and easy
access at one site," Gladis said.
	U.Va. has launched nine programs that help working adults
upgrade their professional skills in such areas as health care,
criminal justice, information technology and management. U.Va.
anticipates serving several hundred enrollees in such non-credit
offerings this academic year.
	The U.Va. Center also will serve more than 7,000 enrollees in
credit courses this year. It offers master's degree programs in
engineering, education, urban planning and information sciences. 
	About 2,060 students are currently pursuing advanced degrees
through Virginia Tech's programs.  The Virginia Tech Center offers 11
graduate degree programs in such diverse areas as engineering,
marriage and family therapy, adult learning and human resource
development, and science and technology studies. In addition, it
recently launched an information-technology initiative by expanding
course offerings in several fields including applied physics, civil
engineering, computer science and information systems.
	"The opening of the building solidifies our commitment to
providing quality graduate programs in Northern Virginia," said Judy
C. Pearson, Virginia Tech Center director.
	Since 1982, U.Va.'s Division of Continuing Education and
Virginia Tech's Northern Virginia Graduate Center have shared a rented
facility on Telestar Court in Falls Church. The joint site served more
than 13,000 Northern Virginians.
###
March 6, 1997
	For more information, contact Henry Dunbar at U.Va. at (703)
536-1100 or Carolyn Fray at Virginia Tech at (703) 538-8313.
Television reporters should call our TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.