HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — During March of 2010, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin officially signed West Virginia Senate Bill 499, allowing the transition of three community and technical colleges in the state of West Virginia to begin operations under their new names.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Robert Plymale along with other Senators from across the state.

Included in Senate Bill 499 was the provision for Marshall Community & Technical College to operate under the name Mountwest Community & Technical College. The Huntington-based college has been planning for this transition for more than 18 months and has affected many student and faculty services to make the transition from Marshall as smooth as possible. Additional colleges included in the bill were Kanawha Valley C&TC and Bridgemont C&TC.

“We are excited. The signing of this bill by Governor Manchin puts the final stamp on our ability to grow now as Mountwest. We have been working very hard with our board of governors, faculty, staff and students to move ahead with all the changes that are necessary and this passage gives us the green light to begin introducing Mountwest to our region,” said Dr. Keith Cotroneo, President of Mountwest.

Mountwest has entered into a substantive agreement to purchase the property located on the crest of 5th Street Hill for their campus.

This property, formerly occupied by Arch Coal and Direct TV, will be the central campus for the student population. The real estate closing on this property is expected to occur prior to the end of May.