It is widely held today that the future of this country is linked to the successful development of new forms of technology to meeting society’s increasing complex and difficult problems. Engineering is where theory and application encounter each other to yield technological progress. The vital interest of the country and the Commonwealth are best served, then, if educational opportunities in engineering and related fields are made available to allow the full potential of creative endeavor in these areas to be realized.

The Commonwealth is fortunately well-endowed with educational resources in the field of engineering. Old Dominion University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Virginia Military Institute offer highly regarding programs in engineering. Of these, only the first three offer graduate level instruction, and with the exception of Old Dominion University, these programs are not located in centers of population. Therefore, a sizable number of Virginians, especially in Richmond and Northern Virginia, have no direct access to state-supported engineering programs.

In recognition of this lack of opportunities for advanced study in engineering and the need for practicing engineers to keep abreast of their specialties, the 1980 General Assembly adopted House Bill 419, which requests the Council of Higher Education to study the need for graduate and continuing education in engineering in Virginia’s urban corridor. As will be seen in the report of the consultants, undergraduate and graduate education are not wholly separable, but the focus of the study has remained in graduate and continuing education. In particular, the study addresses the possibilities of cooperative ventures to satisfy the need which has been identified.