Brightpoint Community College, formerly John Tyler Community College, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

Chester, Virginia Chester is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 23,414. History Chester's original "downtown" was a stop which was an intersection of the Richmond and Peters ...

History

The college, which opened in 1967, was named after Virginia native

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...

, the tenth president of the United States. In July 2021, the Virginia State Board of Community Colleges changed names for local institutions named after people who owned slaves or advocated racist policies such as

school segregation School segregation is the division of people into different groups in the education system by characteristics such as race, religion, or ethnicity. See also *'' D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic'' *School segregation in the United States *Single ...

. The board allowed the college to change its name to Brightpoint Community College. Instead of venerating John Tyler, who was a slaveholder and Confederacy supporter, the new name ''"celebrates the heart and energy of heinstitution"''. Additionally, new names will be designated for campus buildings and streets, including

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

Hall and Godwin Hall, both of which are named after Virginia politicians who supported segregation.

Academics

The college is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and offers 17 associate degree programs, eight certificate programs, and 36 career studies certificate programs. In addition, the college has transfer degree programs that transfer into bachelor's degree programs that are mostly freshman and sophomore level classes. During the 2010–2011 academic year, the college served more than 14,500 students. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,000 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. John Tyler is the first college in the

Virginia Community College System The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) oversees a network of 23 community colleges in Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, betwe ...

to be recognized for its sustainability efforts. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for its Midlothian Campus Science Building.

Locations

The Community College has two campuses - one in

, and one in

Midlothian, Virginia Midlothian ( ) is an unincorporated area in Chesterfield County, Virginia, U.S. Settled as a coal town, Midlothian village experienced suburbanization effects and is now part of the western suburbs of Richmond, Virginia south of the James Rive ...

. The college's Nursing Education Center is located on the Johnston-Willis Campus of CJW Medical Center. It serves the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg and the counties of Amelia, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Surry and Sussex.

References

External links

* Virginia Community College System Education in Richmond, Virginia Educational institutions established in 1967 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Chesterfield County, Virginia 1967 establishments in Virginia John Tyler {{Virginia-university-stub