Exploring GW’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus


January 19, 2010

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Newly dubbed the Virginia Science and Technology Campus, GW’s campus in Ashburn, Va., has grown by leaps and bounds, rapidly becoming a hub for research and learning in the area and beyond. Craig Linebaugh, chief academic operating officer, discusses the campus, its priorities and partnerships, and surrounding community.

What about the Virginia Science and Technology Campus might surprise people based at GW’s Foggy Bottom or Mount Vernon campuses?
I think people not familiar with the VSTC and its surroundings would be surprised by the size of the campus and the level of development and activity on and around it. At just over 101 acres, the VSTC is larger than the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses combined. The campus includes some of the most sophisticated research laboratories at GW, a library, a cafeteria and a fitness center. The campus is home to many critical GW administrative units including ISS, Human Resources, Payroll, Supply Chain and elements of the Office of the Registrar. The campus has become a vibrant community.

The area around the VSTC also continues to undergo a remarkable transformation. Loudoun County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the United States for nearly 10 years. We’re located in the Dulles technology corridor where our neighbors include a large number of companies, such as Orbital Sciences, Raytheon, NeuStar, Verisign, and Telos, that are interested in technology transfer and partnerships with GW. We have a major shopping mall (Dulles Town Center) and many excellent restaurants just a mile or so from campus. Also, Loudoun County is home to more than 20 fine wineries!

What are the priorities and goals for the campus?
Our priorities and goals fall into three main areas:
Research: The primary areas of research at the VSTC include energy, transportation safety and high-performance computing. We also have ongoing research in nuclear physics, electromagnetics, earthquake engineering and structural reliability, and pharmacogenomics. We have established faculty research groups in the GW Energy Institute and in high-performance computing and are constructing approximately 5,000 square feet of new laboratory space. We are working diligently to increase the sponsored research at the VSTC and to further expand our research infrastructure.

Education Programs: We offer educational programs that help meet important work force development needs of the region and the commonwealth. We added a second degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a doctoral program in educational administration and policy studies in the past year. Our undergraduate program in pharmacogenomics, offered in partnership with Shenandoah University, remains the only one of its kind. We are constantly looking for new opportunities to offer high quality graduate and professional programs that will be in high demand in the region.

We’re also developing graduate certificate and degree programs that leverage the research activity at the VSTC. We’re taking advantage of GW’s exceptional academic technology infrastructure by conducting classes between the VSTC and the Foggy Bottom Campus and Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., via video teleconferencing. Professor Stuart Licht is teaching the first course ever from the VSTC to Foggy Bottom this spring. We look forward to offering more courses at the VSTC so that our students will have even more options available to them.

In addition, our cohort programs in executive leadership, educational administration and policy studies, and higher education administration are offered in a one-weekend-per-month hybrid format that effectively utilizes the campus’ proximity to Dulles Airport and GW’s technology capabilities. This format presents excellent opportunities for GW’s entrepreneurial departments and programs to reach students from outside the Metropolitan Washington region.

Community Engagement: The VSTC is a hub of community activity in Northern Virginia. We are actively involved with the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). We host Science, Engineering, and Technology Day when LCPS high school students come to the campus for hands-on workshops with GW faculty and graduate students. We also host a summer development program for LCPS science teachers, a summer science camp for girls, and art exhibits featuring works by LCPS students and art teachers.

We work closely with Loudoun County’s Department of Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce to promote economic development in the region. We host a variety of public events on campus, including town hall meetings with elected officials, a variety of business development activities, seminars and symposia, and exhibits by regional artists.

How many staff, faculty and students are based at the campus?
We have more than 600 students, approximately 70 GW faculty members as well as nine Shenandoah faculty, and approximately 400 staff members.

How has the campus changed in the almost two decades since it became part of GW?
When the campus was established in 1991, it consisted of one building situated on 50 acres of land. Today, it has four buildings on 101 acres of land. In the early years, the campus housed a few laboratories, mainly in physics and information technology, and offered a few educational programs. Today, the campus has laboratories in high-performance computing, vehicle digitization and modeling, chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, earthquake engineering and structures, electromagnetics and pharmacogenomics, as well as both car and truck driving simulators used in intelligent systems research.

A variety of educational programs are now offered on the campus including ones in executive leadership, engineering, business and management information systems, secondary education and educational administration, and health sciences. Our Executive Leadership Program, the first to be offered on the campus, has educated hundreds of corporate executives and other leaders.

Tell me about your background and role as the chief academic officer for the campus.
I came to GW in 1976 and am a professor of speech and hearing science and research professor of medicine. My research has been in speech and language neuroscience and disorders of communication caused by stroke, head injury and neuromuscular diseases. I served as chair of GW’s Department of Speech and Hearing Science and as associate vice president for academic planning. I have been the chief academic operating officer of the VSTC since 2006.

My primary role is to develop the VSTC as an integral part of GW and a complement to the Foggy Bottom Campus. This includes working with a wide range of colleagues within GW to develop and execute the strategic plan for the campus. I also oversee the daily operations of the campus and the construction of new laboratories, classrooms and academic support areas. And I represent GW to a wide variety of institutions and agencies in Northern Virginia and throughout the commonwealth. I interact on a regular basis with elected representatives, appointed officials, CEOs and many other leaders to promote GW and enhance the University’s roles in contributing to the economic development and quality of life in the region.

What is your favorite thing about the campus?
My favorite thing about the campus is its dynamic nature. There is little time to catch my breath as the level of activity and the facilities on the campus are growing at a tremendous rate. The commitment to the VSTC by GW’s Board of Trustees, President Knapp, Executive Vice Presidents Lehman and Katz, Vice President for Research Chalupa, and several of the deans is very gratifying. In addition, the network of supporters and interested partners throughout Northern Virginia and beyond is expanding rapidly. We are working hard to nurture those opportunities that offer the greatest potential benefits to our faculty and students.