Virginia Law

Article 3. Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.

A. The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (the Institute) is established in Southside Virginia as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth.

B. The Institute shall:

1. Seek to diversify the economy of the Dan River region by engaging the resources of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partnership with Danville Community College and Averett University and public and private bodies and organizations of the region and Commonwealth;

2. Serve as a catalyst for economic and community transformation by leveraging and brokering resources that support the economic diversity of the Dan River region, particularly within the network economy;

3. Provide a site for the development of the technology and trained workforce necessary for new economic enterprises to flourish in Southside Virginia through the teaching, research, outreach, and technology available from its partner institutions;

4. Expand access to higher education in Southside Virginia by providing for adult and continuing education, workforce training and development, and degree-granting programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, through partnerships with the Commonwealth's public institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education, the City of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and the public schools and the public and private sectors in the region;

5. Serve as a resource and hub for network-related initiatives at all levels of education and in economic development activities;

6. Assist in regional economic and community development efforts by housing and encouraging research and product-related activities and encouraging high-technology economic development in the region;

7. Encourage and coordinate, as appropriate, the development and delivery of programs offered by the educational institutions serving the region;

8. Subject to the availability of funding other than from general funds, encourage and coordinate the development and delivery of noncredit courses with a focus on statewide and regional critical shortage areas and the needs of industry. Such courses shall include needed adult education and workforce training; and

9. Serve as a resource and referral center by maintaining and disseminating information on existing educational programs, research, and university outreach resources.

2002, cc. 581, 620, § 23-231.19; 2016, c. 588; 2024, c. 220.

A. The Institute shall be governed by a 15-member board of trustees (the board) that shall consist of 11 nonlegislative citizen members and four ex officio members. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed as follows: one resident of the City of Danville, to be appointed by the Danville City Council; one resident of Pittsylvania County, to be appointed by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors; and nine nonlegislative citizen members representing business and industry who (i) reside in Southside Virginia, (ii) own a business headquartered or otherwise operating in Southside Virginia, or (iii) serve as a member of either the board of directors or senior management of a business headquartered or otherwise operating in Southside Virginia, of whom three shall be appointed by the Governor, three shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and three shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. The presidents of Averett University, Danville Community College, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University or their designees and the chairman of the Board of the Future of the Piedmont Foundation or his designee shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the board shall be nonelected citizens of the Commonwealth.

B. Ex officio members of the board shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Appointments shall be for terms of three years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

No nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms; however, a member appointed to serve an unexpired term is eligible to serve two consecutive three-year terms immediately succeeding such unexpired term.

C. The board shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership and may establish bylaws as necessary.

D. Members of the board are not entitled to receive compensation. All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Funding for the cost of expenses of the members shall be provided by the Institute.

2002, cc. 581, 620, § 23-231.20; 2004, cc. 856, 889, 1000; 2015, c. 141; 2016, c. 588.

A. The board has, in addition to its other powers, all the corporate powers given to corporations by the provisions of Title 13.1, except in those cases where, by the express terms of its provisions, the law is confined to corporations created under that title. The board may accept, execute, and administer any trust in which it may have an interest under the terms of the instrument creating the trust.

B. The board shall oversee the Institute's educational programs and may enter into and administer agreements with public institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education to provide continuing education and instructional programs at the Institute through both traditional and electronic modes of delivery. The board shall, subject to the availability of funding other than from general funds, seek opportunities to collaborate with local comprehensive community colleges to meet specialized noncredit workforce training needs identified by industry. However, if local comprehensive community colleges are unable to meet identified industry needs, then the board may seek to collaborate with other education providers or other public or private organizations to provide, or itself may provide, specialized noncredit workforce training independent of local comprehensive community colleges.

C. The board may, on behalf of the Institute, apply for, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources to enable it to carry out the purposes of this article.

D. The board may request and accept the cooperation of agencies of (i) the Commonwealth or (ii) the local governing bodies in Southside Virginia in the performance of its duties.

2002, cc. 581, 620, §§ 23-231.21, 23-231.23; 2016, c. 588; 2024, c. 220.

The board may appoint a (i) president or (ii) president and executive director of the Institute who may be an employee of Averett University, Danville Community College, or Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The president or president and executive director shall supervise and manage the Institute and shall prepare and submit, upon the direction and approval of the board, all budgets and requests for appropriations.

2002, cc. 581, 620, § 23-231.22; 2016, c. 588; 2019, c. 122.