For the first time since construction began, Woodland Community College administration, faculty and staff were allowed a tour of the new Learning Resource Center on Wednesday, November 8. The tour was originally supposed to be for the Board of Trustees, but scheduling constraints prevented the Board from attending. So Woodland administration, faculty and staff took their place.
The group was composed of Beatrice Vasquez, Dean of Instructional Services; Angela Fairchilds, President of Woodland Community College; Stacey Cook, Dean of Student Services; Dena Martin, Woodland Librarian; Cathy Richter, Administrative Secretary; Darlene Gray, Library Technician; Loretta Richard, head of the Woodland Tutoring Center; and professors Cynthia Kellogg and Donna McGill-Cameron. Kristy Weiland, Project Manager for Student Construction, who is constructing the buildings, gave the tour.
Though the buildings are still under construction, evident by the wires hanging from the ceiling and the wet paint signs, the group was led room by room through the two buildings that compose the new LRC.
The LRC is made up of two buildings, which are both two stories, a first for Woodland Community. The North Building will have seven classrooms on the first floor, with an additional 11 on the second floor. The North Building will also feature a new conference room that can hold up to 300 people, as well as a new, much larger tutoring center.
The South Building will house a new library three times the size of the current one. Right off the library is a multi-media classroom that will become home to the Woodland student staff of The Prospector. There will also be eight study rooms right next to the library. The building will feature an Audio-Visual department too, with rooms for televised classes and editing rooms for those classes.
The rest of the space in the North and South buildings will be for faculty offices and storage areas. The buildings are joined by a second floor walkway that spans the distance between them. Located in the middle of the walkway is an elevator that gives disabled students easy access to the second floors.
The LRC was designed with disabled students in mind. The classrooms will be larger and the buildings will be more easily accessible.
Both buildings are made completely of steel and concrete. There is not one piece of wood built into the structure at all. This will guard against termites and other pests that are known to destroy wood structures.
The English, Math, Business, and Early Childhood Education departments will move to the new buildings, while the Art department will stay in its current place. Though the departments will officially be in the new buildings, some of their classes may still be taught in the old buildings based upon class size.
After the move, all of student services will be moved to the 700 building, though it is still being decided exactly who will go where. The move will leave some empty spaces in the other old buildings, but that will allow for more classes and programs to be added to the school in the future.
As of now, January 17, 2006, is the completion date for the LRC. Hopefully, everyone will be able to start moving in February, though the date is still tentative. Classes will first be held in the LRC this coming summer, with the buildings being in full use next fall.
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