Virginia Briefing

HIGHER EDUCATION

Group Promotes College Access

A coalition of Virginia business leaders announced an initiative yesterday designed to build support for expanding access to higher education in the state.

The Virginia Business Higher Education Council called for the state to award 70,000 more associate's, bachelor's and graduate degrees by 2020 and to emphasize awarding degrees in high-need areas such as science and math. The group includes Medical Facilities of America chief executive W. Heywood Fralin and Dominion Resources President Thomas F. Farrell II.

The coalition also released results of a public poll showing that 75 percent of Virginia voters said they believe a college degree is needed for success, but that 35 percent of college-age Virginians enroll. The poll also showed that 42 percent of Virginians have college degrees. The coalition called for expanding job training programs at community colleges to help laid-off workers prepare for new jobs and for making college more affordable.

The cost of a college education is expected to be a major issue leading up to the gubernatorial election in November. Democratic candidate R. Creigh Deeds, a state senator from Bath County, and Republican Robert F. McDonnell, a former attorney general, have called for increased spending on higher education and expanding the degrees awarded each year.

-- Rosalind S. Helderman

WOODBRIDGE

Suspect in Shooting Is Charged

A Woodbridge man has been charged in a shooting that occurred outside a fire station last month, Prince William County police said yesterday.

Rodney Stephan Conyers, 23, was charged with shooting at an occupied vehicle and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the May 5 shooting in Woodbridge, police said. No one was injured.

Police said Conyers was in a vehicle and tried to shoot a 21-year-old man riding in another vehicle. Conyers, who turned himself in, was released on $10,000 bond. The investigation is continuing.