Sugar Grove – Waubonsee Community College broke ground today on its newest campus building, the Academic and Professional Center (APC), in a public ceremony on the college’s Sugar Grove campus.
The APC, which is being constructed as part of Waubonsee’s 2020 College Master Plan, will greatly expand the college’s classroom capacity, as well as create space for community activities. This 58,000 square-foot building integrates state-of-the-art technology with multi-purpose classroom and community use.
“The Academic and Professional Center is an excellent example of how the college will meet the growing demands for education and workforce development in our college district,” Waubonsee President Dr. Christine Sobek said. “Progress takes planning, and we believe Waubonsee’s 2020 College Master Plan provides the blueprint for managing the growth that will ultimately see the college serving more than 34,000 students by the year 2020.”
Looking toward the future, all classrooms, seminar and conference rooms will have a full range of multimedia technology to support teaching and learning. Students and instructors will have access to wireless network connectivity.
A centerpiece of the building, which is slated to open in mid-2007, is a large multi-purpose room that can accommodate more than 500 people.
"The college will utilize this space for a variety of events including Workforce Development Training programs, various student activities such as recognition programs and banquets, special programs offered through Community Education and community events such as job fairs,” said Dr. Deborah Lovingood, Waubonsee’s executive vice president of Educational Affairs and Chief Learning Officer.
The APC will also contain a 96-seat tiered seminar room in addition to 18 classrooms for students to take classes in accounting, economics, business, history, political science, psychology and sociology, greatly increasing instructional space to meet growing student enrollments.
The theme for the event was: “Proud of our past, changing for the future.” At the groundbreaking, Suzanne Morris, vice chair of the Illinois Community College Board, presented a proclamation to Waubonsee honoring the 40th anniversary of the Illinois community college system. Waubonsee celebrates its own 40th anniversary in August 2006.
This groundbreaking signified the start of the college’s Phase II of the 2020 College Master Plan, which includes the APC and the construction of a new Student Center on the Sugar Grove campus. The new Student Center is expected to break ground in spring 2006. Phase III of the Plan looks to expand the existing Henning Academic Computing Center and Erickson Hall. Waubonsee’s expansion plans also extend beyond the Sugar Grove campus. The college recently acquired nine acres for a new Plano campus that will be located on Route 34 one mile west of Eldamain Road, and its Aurora campus will also be expanding to serve a growing population.
Both the APC and new Student Center were designed by Chicago firm Perkins and Will. The APC has a projected budget of $11 million.
Implementation of the 2020 College Master Plan would not have been possible without successful passage of college referenda in 2002 and 2003. Voters in the college district overwhelmingly expressed their support of these projects. All district residents were invited to the groundbreaking ceremony. |
