The Erma Byrd Higher Education Center is a joint venture extension campus of several colleges in West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. It is located just of Interstate 64

Interstate 64

Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with...

 near Beckley, West Virginia

Beckley, West Virginia

Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, which was founded on April 4, 1838. The 2008 population was estimated to be 16,832 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House...

. It was dedicated in 2007 and is named for Erma Byrd, the wife of West Virginia United States Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Robert Byrd

Robert Byrd

Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...

.

Currently it is used by Marshall University

Marshall University

Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....

 for extension graduate programs under the control of the Marshall University - South Charleston Campus branch campus, by Bluefield State College

Bluefield State College

Bluefield State College is a historically black college located in Bluefield, West Virginia, United States. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and offers baccalaureate and associate degrees. The school is not connected in any way with Bluefield College in nearby Bluefield,...

 for programs in nursing, and by Concord University

Concord University

Concord University is a comprehensive, public, liberal arts institution located in Athens, West Virginia, United States, founded on February 28, 1872, when the West Virginia Legislature passed "an Act to locate a Branch State Normal School, in Concord Church, in the County of Mercer".Founded by...

 for programs in business and teacher education.

New River Community and Technical College

New River Community and Technical College

New River Community and Technical College is West Virginia's newest independently accredited institution of higher education. Founded July 1, 2003, by enactment of the West Virginia Legislature, the college was independently accredited February 8, 2005, by the Higher Learning Commission of North...

 also used the facility, but was forced to vacate in 2010 when it was unable to secure budgetary approval to pay the increasing rent at the center.

The Center consists currently of one building located on a reclaimed strip mine and is partly powered by wind energy

Wind energy

Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion; see also wind power.Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary area A during the time t is:E = ½ m v2 = ½ v 2...

. The reclaimed area a larger potential development area than the campuses of the three constituent colleges combined. Eventual plans following a complete build-out, which will take several decades, are for new subject areas to be offered by West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

 and West Virginia University Institute of Technology

West Virginia University Institute of Technology

West Virginia University Institute of Technology is a four-year college located in Montgomery, West Virginia, United States. It is the largest regional campus of West Virginia University and is separately accredited from the main campus of WVU in Morgantown...

followed by an evolution as a full branch campus of Concord, followed by an evolution into a stand-alone state college.