REGIONAL VIEW shenandoah valley


Merck expansion spurs new degrees, training programs by Joan Tupponce


B


lue Ridge Community College and James Madison University


are collaborating with global pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck & Co. to create cur- riculum and training programs centered on biotechnology, process engineering and work- force development. Merck is investing up to $1 billion over the next three years to expand its over- 75-year-old manufacturing operation at its Elkton plant in Rockingham County to increase production of its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.


The expansion will cre-


ate approximately 100 new jobs, increasing the plant’s workforce to more than 1,000 employees. “What Merck liked is the collaboration between the two institutions,” says Melissa Lubin, JMU’s dean of profes- sional and continuing educa- tion. “Some of the curriculum will be from Blue Ridge and


FOR THE RECORD


The long-awaited Blue Ridge Children’s Museum could open in Waynesboro as early as this fall. After a lengthy search for a permanent building, volunteers are busy clearing out a warehouse near Constitution Park that will be the museum’s home. Organiz- ers are counting on community support — and elbow grease — to get at least part of the space ready for visitors by fall 2019. (News Leader)


The combined populations of Frederick and Clarke counties and the city of Winchester are expected to increase 24.5% by 2040, according to the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center, which recently released its statewide population projections.


Photo by Mark Rhodes


James Madison University’s Melissa Lubin and Blue Ridge Community College President John Downey are collaborating on manufacturing workforce programs.


some from JMU. We’ll also have some that is co-branded.” Blue Ridge is already


attuned to the needs of manu- facturing. “As a community college, economic development is at the forefront of what we do,” says the college’s president, John Downey. “We are always looking to make a difference for employers in the region by training the next generation of skilled workers.”


In anticipation of growth in pharmaceutical biomanu- facturing, Blue Ridge began planning for a new bioscience


Since 2010, the Winchester area’s population, which is forecast to grow from 133,428 to 166,064, has been one of the fastest-grow- ing in Virginia, which as a state is experiencing its slowest popula- tion growth in almost a century at 8% from 2010 to 2020. However, the Winchester region’s growth rate is still slower than in previous decades, compared to a peak of more than 30% in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, researchers said. Winchester’s population growth has been driven by retirees and relocating families from the Washington, D.C., area. (The Winchester Star)


The town of Front Royal filed a $3 million civil lawsuit in June against the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Author- ity and its former director, Jennifer


building 10 years ago. Open- ing this month, the facility contains a clean room and labs that can adjust with the requirements of industries. It will help the school address Merck’s needs as well as those of other manufacturers in the region, Downey says. JMU offers an interdisci-


plinary science and technology degree and is also looking at developing a “concentration in advanced manufacturing,” Lubin says.


The schools are col- laborating on post-education


McDonald, in attempts to recover overpayments the town made to the EDA. McDonald resigned from the EDA late last year and in March was named as one of eight defendants in a $17.6 million embezzlement and misappropria- tion civil lawsuit filed by the EDA. She was arrested in May on felony counts of embezzlement and fraud and is being held without bond. (Northern Virginia Daily)


Motorists in counties along, or even near, Interstate 81 began paying more for fuel in July. In a special session in April, the Vir- ginia General Assembly approved a gas sales tax increase of 7.6 cents per gallon for unleaded gasoline and 7.7 cents per gallon of diesel fuel to help fund $2 billion in improvements along the 325-mile-stretch of Interstate 81


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manufacturing boot camps to train recent college graduates at the community college and university levels. “A lot of col- lege grads would be more eager to work in manufacturing if they understood the environ- ment better,” Downey says. The project is now in the planning stages. As part of the state’s incentive pack- age for Merck, the schools are eligible to receive up to $2.5 million — subject to General Assembly approval — for the development of a custom workforce solution. Funding is expected in July 2020.


Blue Ridge is also working with JMU to have one of its technical degrees in bioscience and mechatronics “matriculate to JMU so students can get their bachelor’s degree,” Downey says.


The schools will meet


with Merck “to find out what skills they need,” Lubin says. “Everybody will be around the same table in August.”


from Winchester to Bristol. The tax will initially be placed on all oil companies serving the area. It will then make its way to the consum- ers at the pump. (The Northern Virginia Daily)


Harrisonburg-based James Madi- son University adopted a living wage for its full-time employees in July. A total of 109 employees who were earning less than $24,960 per year had their wages adjusted to meet the living wage standard. JMU determined the living wage using information published by the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology. MIT determined the living wage for a single adult in Rock- ingham County to be $11.38 per hour. Those JMU employees who received the living wage increase now earn $12 per hour. The annual cost to the university of the


living wage increase is $75,263, while the average increase per employee is $690. The hourly rate is calculated using a 2,080-hour work year. (News release)


PEOPLE


Warren County supervisors appointed two members to the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority board in June. Following nominations from Tom Sayre, supervisor for the Shenandoah District, and Dan Murray, chairman and supervisor for the North River District, which did not receive seconds, Tony Carter, supervisor for Happy Creek District, nominated Greg Harold and Jeffrey Browne. Both men received unanimous approval from the supervisors. (Northern Virginia Daily)


VIRGINIA BUSINESS | 11


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