DeWine opens new Rio Grande center to boost Vinton County training
DeWine opened a 22,000-square-foot McArthur center with classrooms, labs and a future Holzer clinic, bringing training and support services closer to Vinton County.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine joined local and state leaders in McArthur on Friday, June 26, to open the new University of Rio Grande McArthur Center, a 22,000-square-foot building at 105 Cherry Hill Lane built to put college classes, job training and student services inside Vinton County.
The project cost nearly $12 million through the Appalachian Community Grant Program, a $500 million state initiative created by the DeWine-Husted administration and the Ohio General Assembly. The new center replaces the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College’s temporary home in the former Vinton County High School building and gives the county a permanent site for higher education and workforce preparation.
Inside the new facility are nine classrooms, a computer and science lab, a dedicated manufacturing area and space set aside for community partners. University officials say Holzer Health System and Ohio Means Jobs have space in the building, and Holzer plans to open a Vinton County Clinic at the center later in 2026. Holzer staff were expected to tour their clinical space at the opening, tying the project directly to healthcare access as well as education.
The center is aimed at residents who want affordable training in healthcare and manufacturing without leaving the county. The university says the Mitchell Family Scholarship can cover tuition, books and fees at the McArthur Center, a funding boost that could make the new location especially important for local students and adult learners balancing work, family and school. Ryan Smith, president of University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College, joined DeWine and other officials at the opening, underscoring the link between education, healthcare and economic development in southeast Ohio.
The opening came more than two years after the grant was first announced on May 1, 2024, when more than 100 local and state community leaders gathered around the project. For Vinton County, where the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 12,645 residents in July 2025 after a count of 12,800 in 2020, the center adds a local option in a county where postsecondary access has often meant travel beyond McArthur.
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