Germanna Community College is set to open a new campus on Center Street in North Stafford to serve as the hub of college operations in Stafford County.
Dr. Janet Gullickson, President of Germanna Community College, shared insights about the new facility, highlighting its significance and what it will offer to the community.
Gullickson explained that the new campus will be much larger than its predecessor, with approximately 75,000 square feet of space across two buildings, about four times its current campus at 124 Old Potomac Chruch Road near Stafford Hospital.
“We will eventually serve as many students there as we do at our Fredericksburg campus,” she said. The college’s Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania County is the main center and most significant in a chain of locations, including Locust Grove in Orange County.
The new Stafford campus will house various programs, including the nursing program, which will now be fully offered at the new site. “Our nursing program will double in size because of this facility,” she noted.
The campus will also offer cybersecurity, IT, and business programs, catering to the region’s growing demand for professionals in these fields. “We are extremely excited to be able to offer a whole new cadre of students the opportunity to become nurses and other health care workers,” Gullickson said. Additionally, the campus will focus on small businesses and entrepreneurship, reflecting the region’s economic growth.
The new campus’s location at 10 and 25 Center Street in North Stafford, just off Route 610, near Interstate 95 and Stafford Marketplace, is strategic for serving a broad range of students from the surrounding areas. Gullickson emphasized the importance of accessibility, saying, “We believe that an unintended consequence might be that people start going south.”
There will be two buildings: 10 Center Street, the Barbara J. Fried Building, and 25 Center Street, which will be called the Kevin L. Dillard Health Sciences Building.
The new campus is expected to open on October 17, and preparations are underway. “Students should come to Barbara J. Fried, the current site, to register for the fall. We will have seven-week courses that will conclude by the time we open up in mid-October,” Gullickson explained.
Private donors Mary Washington Healthcare and the Stafford Economic Development Agency have supported the establishment of the new campus. “We did not get any state money. We’re hoping to get some other assistance, especially as we expand from the locality and other areas,” Gullickson said. She also mentioned the importance of community support, highlighting the contributions of local leaders and organizations.
Gullickson expressed gratitude for the community’s support and emphasized Germanna’s commitment to serving Stafford County. “The vast majority of our students stay in this community. We are the number one educational provider for Stafford County,” she said.
The new campus will feature various facilities, including a wellness clinic, admissions office, computer labs, cybersecurity classroom, faculty offices, financial aid services, a library, and a tutoring center. “We are really going to be a full-service experience,” Gullickson concluded.
You can find more information about the Stafford County Center here. You can also watch our interview below.
