UVA | NOVA plans signal major regional expansion

The University of Virginia has big plans for continued expansion in Northern Virginia, with more details to come early this year on where U.Va. will be developing new programs within the region.

Negotiations with prospective partners were ongoing as of early December 2021, school officials said.

The university’s expanded presence for both degree and non-degree workforce training programs will initially operate out of the university’s Rosslyn location, where U.Va.’s Darden D.C. Metro program has been offering graduate business and executive education programs out of the top two floors of a high-rise.

“There will be other facilities in other parts in the region that we can speak to in the future,” says university spokesman Brian Coy.

In September, U.Va. leaders announced UVA|NOVA, a new initiative that ties together existing U.Va. programs in Northern Virginia and signals the launch of an aggressive expansion.

U.Va. used to share space in Falls Church with Virginia Tech, although U.Va. is moving on from that site, says Gregory Fairchild, the inaugural dean and CEO of UVA|NOVA. The university is considering possible locations in Fairfax County.

Fairchild declined to get into specifics, but said to expect a broad array of programs offered in Northern Virginia in the future.

“[UVA|NOVA] will provide a sweep of degree and non-degree educational programs that help someone learn right alongside their daily working life in D.C.,” Fairchild says. “Our initial plans are for programs focused on STEM, specifically with a heavy lean on engineering and data science and business.”

Not all of the programs are degree-focused. U.Va. also will partner with major area employers to provide career transition training. “For example, someone may have a degree in history but want to work for Northrop Grumman,” Fairchild says. One likely player, due to pre-existing partnerships between the institutions, is Inova Health System.

In 2016, Inova and U.Va. announced a $112 million partnership to establish an initiative for up to 72 third- and fourth-year U.Va. medical students to matriculate through the Inova campus, giving them the opportunity to complete their final two years of medical school training with faculty at a high-volume hospital, Inova’s flagship facility in Merrifield.

Last summer, Inova announced that it had completed the purchase of the former Exxon Mobil Corp. campus, just across the street from the hospital, finalizing a long-term plan that created the Inova Center for Personalized Health. Part of the collaboration between U.Va. and Inova includes continued research and educational programs at the campus.