TCC’s West Campus Adds New Element
CONSTRUCTIVE SCIENCE: TCC students collected samples of dirt as part of the “ribbon cutting??? events held in honor of construction on the new Science and Math Building at TCC’s west campus. The samples collected will be analyzed and displayed inside the new building when completed in January 2009. Local dignitaries attending the event included Sand Springs Mayor Bob Walker, Sen. Nancy Riley, Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller, TCC President and CEO Tom McKeon, TCC West Campus Provost Dr. Peggy Dumas Dyer, Rep. Lucky Lamons and former Board of Regents member Montie Box.
MIRANDA ENZOR for GTR Newspapers
A steady increase in the number of college students interested in math and science has prompted the construction of a new building on Tulsa Community College’s West Campus. A ceremony to mark the construction of the new Science and Math Building was held in late November.
The ceremony not only brought attention to the new building, but also highlighted the recent growth in enrollment at West Campus. Fall 2007 figures show an enrollment of more than 3,000 students, a 645 percent increase over the last 12 years.
The ceremony featured comments from Sen. Nancy Riley and Rep. Lucky Lamons as well as County Commissioner Randi Miller and Sand Springs Mayor Bob Walker. TCC representatives included President and CEO Tom McKeon, West Campus Provost Dr. Peggy Dumas Dyer and former Board of Regents member Montie Box. Following the speakers’ presentation was a special “ribbon cutting” event where TCC students collected dirt samples from the construction site to be analyzed and preserved for display inside the new building.
The $6.2 million construction project is funded by the Oklahoma Capital Improvement Authority State Facilities Revenue Bonds. The project’s expected completion date is January 2009.
The new science and math facility will be a two-story building with more than 23,000 square feet of space. It will be connected to the existing Science and Math Building by a walkway on the second level. The new building will bring the total size of classroom, laboratory and office space on the West Campus to more than 238,000 square feet.
The first level of the new building will feature division offices, a conference room, lecture classrooms, computer lab and two multimedia classrooms. There will also be two student collaboration areas and a two-story lobby. Student work and awards will be displayed in the lobby area and information will be displayed on a video wall made up of multiple flat screen monitors.
“One wonderful aspect of this new building is the faculty was given the opportunity to help design the classrooms and labs, using our experience to make them user-friendly and functional for students and instructors,” says Dr. Eckle Peabody, an associate professor of biology. “The added laboratory space will greatly increase our ability to offer class sections at the times students are requesting.”
West Campus currently offers 360 course sections and over 40 labs.
“In the last two years, science lab enrollments have increased and new faculty members have been hired without proper office space,” says Dr. Dyer. “This new building will greatly meet both of those needs.”
For more information about West Campus construction, visit www.tulsacc.edu.
Updated 12-24-2007
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