Mountain Gateway Community College

Located in the Allegheny Highlands of Virginia, Dabney S. Lancaster Community College serves the rural communities of Clifton Forge and the surrounding Alleghany County region. The main campus, situated on 100 acres of mountainous terrain, features modern classroom buildings and technical training facilities. The college, established in 1967 and named after Virginia's former Superintendent of Public Instruction, primarily offers two-year associate degrees and career training programs. Key academic areas include forestry, nursing, culinary arts, and wind turbine technology, with the forestry program being particularly notable as one of the few accredited programs of its kind at a community college level. The campus includes several specialized training facilities, including a state-approved nursing lab and an outdoor forest management laboratory that utilizes the surrounding woodland environment.