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Bond initiative upgrades campus
BY IAN VAN OFtDEN
ARTS & CULTURÉ EDÍTOR
Photo by Jonathan Villagomez
Students returning fro m sum m er break
m ayb e shocked by the num ber o f changes
that have taken place since their last visit
to the c o lle g e .,
Beginning w ith the construction o f the
new Industrial Technology C enter at th e
end o f last year, a number o f improvements
are being made to the Oregon City cam pus
th ro u g h a b on d in itiativ e, approved in
N o v e m b e r 2014. T h e in itia tiv e fir s t
fu n ded th e ren ovation o f th e H a rm o n y
W est buildin g at the H arm o n y C am p u s,
serving as the beginning to several stages
o f im provem ents that w ill take place over
a several years period.
F o llo w in g th e c o m p le tio n o f th e
H arm ony W est b u ild in g, focus shifted to
the construction o f a new building on the
Oregon City campus. Opened this term , the
Industrial Technology Center serves as a
new center for the manufacturing programs
at th e college, in clu d in g m anufacturirig
technology, computer aided manufacturing,
th e r e n e w a b le -e n e r g y p ro g ra m arid
industrial m aintenance technology.
Though the programs will rem ain largely
the sam e, the m ove to the new b u ildin g
has opened up m an y new opportunities
for manufacturing at the college. According
’ to M ik e M attso n , the d ep artm en t chair
for m anufacturing, the renewable energy
program alone w as previously scattered
across three separate buildings.
“ W e’ve gon e fro m a really unsuitable
e n v ir o n m e n t,” M a ttso n said , “ a very
crowded, old, unsuitable environment that
w as scabbed together out o f th e w in g o f
Barlow hall that was built 40 some years ago
as a diesellab. W e w ent from about 13,000
sqúare feet in Barlow hall to 43,000 square
feet. It’s sign ifican t.”
T h e b u ild in g n o w sh o w c a se s n ew
advan tages seen fro m the m o m e n t one
steps foot through the doors. Large windows
a llo w in g a view o f th e m a c h in e shop'
im m ediately draw the eye, allowing those
passing b y a glance in to the projects being
created w ithin.
The attention to detail within the building
is a ls o a s to n is h in g . O n e p articu larly
interesting feature is also one o f th e m ost
easily overlooked. Part o f the second-floor
wraps around the sides o f the buildin g’s
lobby. The guard rail found here appears
typical at first glan ce , b u t up on fu rther
inspection one can find inform ation etched
into the railing. Each section o f the railing
sports information pertaining to an element
*that is used in m anufacturing, including a
Clackamas Print ----- ------------ ------
A bond initiative, voted on and passed in 2014, has funded several projects to improve two of Clackamas Community
College’s campuses. One of several improvements enabled by the bond, the Dejardin/Pauling Science Complex will
house several new labs along with providing a single home for the college’s science programs. It is currently scheduled
to open during the fall 2019 term.
sm all depiction o f its structure, marked by
a num ber o f circles. Below the railing, the
m etal that serves as the rail sports holes;
form ing the structure o f each elem ent.
In addition to the construction o f the new
building, the bond initiative also allowed
the m anufacturing program s to upgrade
their equipment. The old equipm ent, some
o f w hich w as as old as 28 years old , had
becom e outdated.
“ W hen you’re trying to attract students
to a program and you’re telling them how
high tech ibis, and they w alk in and see this
com puter-controlled m achine that looks
like it has vacuum tubes in it, it’s a pretty
hard sell,” said M attson.
W ith the com pletion o f the ITC building,
focus has shifted to th e next project enabled
by the bond, the Dejardin expansion.
W h e n it is co m p leted , th e Dejardin/
Pauling Science Complex will be home to the
colleges science programs, offering m any
new resources to the departm ent including
a num ber o f upgraded facilities.
“ Our m ain chem istry lab is over 40 years
old and is very inadequate,” said Sue G o ff,
the D ean o f Arts and Sciences.' “ W e w ill
have three new chem istry labs, three new
biology labs, a lot o f new student space to
work in and some m odem lab equipnient.”
A s w ith the ITC building, a focus o f the
expansion is to reorganize the program ,
giving it single hom e rather than having the
sciences spread across m ultiple buildings
o n cam p us. A ccordin g to G o ff, th e new
building w ill house nearly all the science
classes offered by the college, serving as a
center for the sciences in m uch the sam e
way the ITC building now acts as a hub for
the m anufacturing programs.
A fte r th e co m p letio n o f th e D ejard in
e xp a n sion , th e n ext project enabled b y
the bond w ill be the construction o f a new
Student Services and Com m unity Commons
to replace the Bill Brod Com m unity Center
curren tly available bn th e O rego n C ity
cam pus. The new building w ill offer m any
o f the sam e services that are available on
cam p us n ow , su ch as ve teran services,
disabilities resources and career coaching,
but all w ithin a single location.
Perhaps the construction that has had
theclackam asprint.com
the m ost direct, noticeable im pact to m ost
students and faculty at the college has been
the construction o f the new bus depot and
reconstruction o f the surrounding parking
lot. The organization of the new depot has
at least been received positively by one C C Ç
student.
.
“ I t ’ s n ice , it ’ s s im p le ,” said H u n te r
M cCarvilla.
Following the com pletion of the current
projects o utlin ed b y the b on d , the fin a l
step w ill in volve a n u m b er o f gen eral
im provem ents to the cam pus designed to
rèduce costs to the college. Som e o f these
have or are being upgraded, including the
elevators in a number o f buildings, upgrades
to the locker rooms and restrooms in Randall
H all in order to bring th em up to Title IX
standards and an extension to Meyers Road.
T h o u g h t h e c a m p u s h a s a lre a d y
experienced large changes since the bond
was approved and w ill likely see more over •
the next couple o f years, the changes appear |
to be largely positive. W ith any luck, this
trend will continue, offering future students
a better, more m odem place to learn.
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October 10,2018