College gears up for funding effort
Local school seeks help from the public to reach goal
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 11:26 AM PST
| |
| Students work in tight quarters in the chemistry lab at Treasure Valley Community College, sometimes shoulder to shoulder. It is hoped that a new science building will relieve the overcrowding in the science rooms in Barber Hall, as college officials begin a campaign to fund a new science building. |
ONTARIO — The theme is, “Imagine, Invest and Inspire,” as Treasure Valley Community College officials kick off a campaign to raise the college’s share to pay for construction of a new science building, which will be situated somewhere south of Barber Hall.
TVCC’s proposed project was on the top of the list for capital spending at community colleges in the 2009 Legislature, after it just missed the cut two years ago.
“This has been a real need,” TVCC Acting President Randy Griffin said during a news conference Tuesday announcing the campaign. “It position’s TVCC very well into the future.”
Saying the college has to be “run like a business,” Griffin said, “We have to have decent facilities. We have to recruit students.
The new science building will meet the needs of TVCC students and those of university partners, such as health care, business and agriculture within the communities the college serves.
The first floor will contain a 100-seat lecture hall and four other large classrooms, with a second fall dedicated to science classrooms and labs for biology, chemistry, physics and micro-biology and related fields, Griffins said.
Also planned are five or six independent faculty offices, with a joint office space for adjunct faculty.
Giving a tour of the existing chemistry lab, Dr. Marie Strunk said it is at least half the size it needs to be, and students stand shoulder to shoulder at times.
“All the science instructors looked at labs (at other colleges),” Strunk said.
The biology lab is scheduled heavily nearly every day, starting at 8 a.m. and going until 10 some evenings because of the number of students enrolled and increased number of sections required to serve them.
The campaign manager is Cathy Yasuda. Co-chairs include Ralph Poole, Mike Hanigan, Evelyn Dame and honorary co-chair Dr. Gus Tanaka. Rita Lewis is board division chair.
Campaign consultant will be Al Hove, Clements Group, which works with colleges and universities across the nation in fundraising and developing resources.
