Local microbiologist David Vaughan will be director of Central Virginia Community College’s new Amherst Center, the school announced Thursday.
“I’m thrilled,” said Vaughan, who in the past has taught biology and quality control courses at the main campus. “I just sort of fell in love with the place and never got it out of my system. So I’m ready to go back.”
Starting Jan. 5, he will lead the Amherst Center as it opens for its first semester.
A ribbon cutting for the center, CVCC’s fifth satellite location, is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday at Mountainview Plaza, off Richmond Highway in Amherst.
The center will offer day and evening programs and specialized training in workforce development for business and industry. Students may enroll in both traditional classroom courses and web-based and computer-assisted courses.
Officials expect the center to enroll about 125 students in the first year, and build up to 250.
“I’m looking forward to growing the site,” Vaughan said Thursday. “The community colleges are really serving a role here.”
Vaughan, who turned 60 earlier this month, holds two master’s degrees in microbiology and industrial management. Originally from Kentucky, he has worked for C.B. Fleet Company in Lynchburg since 1979, most recently serving as director of special quality projects.
He will take early retirement from Fleet at the end of this month, he said.
“My wife and I are just not ready to leave the Blue Ridge mountains,” he said. “We’ve fallen in love with this little place, so this gives us an opportunity to hang out here for a little while.”
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