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Tag: Brightpoint Community College

Brightpoint promotes Fiege to president

William “Bill” Fiege will be the eighth president of Brightpoint Community College, the Virginia Community College System announced Monday.

Fiege will begin his new role on Jan. 2, 2024.  Van Wilson has led Brightpoint as interim president since February 2023, after former President Ted Raspiller stepped down from the role to take a job with Virginia529.

Fiege is currently Brightpoint’s vice president of learning and student success at Brightpoint, the college’s chief academic officer, a position he has held since 2012. Before that, he was at Germanna Community College, where he was dean of professional and technical studies. He has also worked for Longwood University, his alma mater, from which he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science. Fiege also has a master’s in speech communication from Bloomsburg University and a doctorate in community college leadership from Old Dominion University.

“I’m excited about Bill’s appointment,”  David Doré, chancellor of VCCS, said in a statement. “I am confident he will build on the college’s outstanding history of serving its communities and its diverse student populations and will lead Brightpoint into a new era as Virginia’s Community Colleges embark on a systemwide transformation to serve more learners in new ways. Our monthslong search yielded exceptional candidates and we are grateful to all of the talented educators who expressed interest in the Brightpoint presidency.”

Brightpoint attracted 74 candidates in its national search for a new president.

“The Brightpoint Community College Board is elated with the selection of Bill Fiege as the institution’s eighth president,” Kenneth Pritchett, chair of Brightpoint Community College’s Local Advisory Board, said in a statement. “I would like to thank our college board members for their time and energy throughout the rigorous selection process. We truly believe that Dr. Fiege will move our college forward. Under his leadership, Brightpoint will continue to be a place that changes lives, focuses on student success and supports the needs of its communities.”

Brightpoint serves Amelia, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Surry and Sussex counties as well as Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg. It has campuses in Chester and Midlothian.

“After serving Brightpoint as the chief academic officer for the last 11 ½ years, I am honored and humbled to have been selected from an outstanding pool of candidates to lead the college as its next president,” Fiege said in a statement. “Already embedded in the community, I fully comprehend the positive impact of Brightpoint and our workforce arm, the Community College Workforce Alliance, within our region. I appreciate the confidence bestowed upon me by Chancellor Doré and look forward to working with him and Brightpoint’s boards, faculty, staff, students and partners to continue the college’s positive momentum. We are and will continue to be trailblazers for the great communities we serve.”

Civica announces plans for $27.8M lab in Chesterfield

Nonprofit drugmaker Civica Rx is investing $27.8 million to establish a new 55,000-square-foot laboratory in Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.

The expansion will add 51 jobs, according to a news release. The company will also host a scale-up manufacturing facility run by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medicines for All Institute, which will add more jobs.

The generic drug maker is currently building a 140,000-square-foot, $124.5 million manufacturing facility in Petersburg that will become the Utah-based company’s North American headquarters when it opens in 2024. The Chesterfield lab will support that factory through testing and development of new products.

“Civica’s investment is another transformational step forward in strengthening the advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in the Richmond-Petersburg region and positioning Virginia as a key player in domestic drug manufacturing in America,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Civica is a critical partner in the commonwealth’s emerging pharmaceutical ecosystem that will ensure access to affordable, lifesaving medications while providing high-quality jobs and an incredible boost to our economy.”

Construction of the lab is being funded through a $52.9 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, Youngkin’s office said. Civica is providing matching capital. The alliance is a coalition of industry and public organizations from the Richmond and Petersburg regions that aim to advance and scale up the manufacturing of affordable, essential medicines in the United States. It includes Civica, Richmond-based Phlow Corp., VCU and Virginia State University.

In April, Civica said that its new factory will include space for insulin manufacturing after donors expressed concern over the cost of insulin. Civica plans to produce three forms of insulin priced at $30 per vial. The sweeping Inflation Reduction Act places a $35 monthly cap on insulin prices for Medicare patients, but a measure that would have extended that cap to all insured Americans was blocked by Senate Republicans.

“With this investment, Civica is building on its long-term commitment to patients — and to Virginia,” Civica President and CEO Ned McCoy said in a statement. “This lab will support a skilled and highly trained workforce who will ensure Civica’s affordable insulin, as well as other essential medicines, meet the highest standards.”

The lab testing facility is expected to open soon after the Petersburg plant.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Chesterfield County to secure the project and Youngkin approved a $400,000 grant to the county for assistance. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program will help with recruitment and training for the new jobs. In addition, Chester-based Brightpoint Community College has created a training program to help people gain qualifications for manufacturing technician jobs at the upcoming Civica Petersburg plant, Youngkin said.