October 1, 2002
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System received $75,000 from the Ford Foundation to support the Governor’s Summit on Quality of Life in the Commonwealth in October and an initiative to identify resources to combat poverty. The “Bridges to Opportunity” grants aim to enhance educational and economic opportunities for disadvantaged adults. The funds support projects that promote integration of academic programs, workforce training and developmental programs in community colleges.
October 2, 2002
Future development plans for Madisonville Community College’s Muhlenberg County campus feature two new classroom buildings.
A 25,758-square-foot technology building that connects to the existing facility would be built first. A new humanities building is included in the second phase of development.
Construction depends on the availability of funds. In today’s dollars, costs are estimated at $12 million for the entire project.
Dr. Judith Rhoads, MCC president, unveiled the master plan for the campus in a Tuesday news conference at the Central City facility.
“The whole reason for a development plan is that as you follow the plan, you have a broad view of what the campus should be in the future as related to the landscape and can ensure it remains uniform,” said Rhoads. “There’s just a picture of where it’s going for the future.”
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System contracted with McIlwain & Associates of Lexington to develop the master plan.
The technology building would include nursing labs, biology labs, a business and industry training room, HVAC lab, electric lab, machine tool lab, welding lab, offices, general classrooms, book store and computer training rooms.
“It will house programs more related to work force needs,” Rhoads said.
The 17,065-square-foot humanities building would include general classrooms, music rooms, studio, multimedia classrooms, auditorium, Muhlenberg County museum, Learning Resource Center expansion, student services expansion, office suites and open offices.
“The development plan also has incorporated into it walking trails, a small amphitheater and tennis courts,” Rhoads said. “The walking trails would tie into the Rails to Trails walk from Central City to Greenville.”
An area set aside for unplanned programs could house a 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot facility, she said.
County residents have expressed the importance of the campus having a “college atmosphere” to MCC officials.
“The campus has to be appealing to the students - it has to have a college campus atmosphere so students will want to continue postsecondary education without having to leave Muhlenberg County,” Rhoads said.
The existing 21,000-square-foot building sits on 22 acres donated by the Everly Brothers Foundation and the city of Central City. It opened for classes in August 2001. The $4.1 million facility includes nine instructional areas, a biology lab and a computer lab.
MCC reports that 789 Muhlenberg County students are enrolled at the college, including 327 students taking classes at the Muhlenberg campus.
October 2, 2002
Madisonville Community College hopes to expand its Muhlenberg County branch to include two new buildings and recreation areas during the next 20 years.
Preliminary plans also include an area for a fourth building at the Central City campus, MCC President Dr. Judith Rhoads said Tuesday.
"There is room on the site for another building if we grow past the two expansions," said Rhoads, who announced a master plan at a brief news conference Tuesday morning.
"It's a vision of where we're going," Rhoads said of the project, which would cost $12 million to $15 million in today's dollars.
The two new buildings -- one for technology related classes, the other for humanities -- were chosen based on academic and community needs, she said.
"The architects interviewed students, faculty, community members and administrators of the college" in the past four to five months, Rhoads said.
The architects are from McIlwain & Associates, a Lexington landscape architectural firm that did the original landscaping design for the college, which opened in August 2001.
What they found was that many of the 327 students who take classes at the local campus are studying nursing, business technology and health care, Rhoads said.
The master plan calls for a 25,748-square-foot technology building that would attach to the south end of the original facility.
In it would be a bookstore; classrooms; a computer training room; and storage areas and labs for nursing, biology, machine tool, welding and other areas.
Mike Mercer, chairman of the Everly Brothers Foundation that donated the 22 acres on which the campus sits, was one of those interviewed.
"I told her I thought it was important to have a two-year degree here," especially for technology, he said, citing the county's need for job training. "I think it would increase our enrollment a great deal."
Mercer said he also saw a need for a humanities facility, given the county's musical heritage.
A 17,065-square-foot humanities building would be perpendicular to the south end of the technology building.
It would include classrooms, music rooms, a studio, multimedia classrooms, an auditorium, a learning resource center and a Muhlenberg County museum.
A fourth building measuring 20,000 to 25,000 square feet could be built north of the existing building.
The master plan also includes using 60 acres surrounding the current campus. The surrounding land is now controlled by the Everly Brothers Foundation.
A new parking lot would run parallel to the Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway. Two tennis courts, a multipurpose recreation field and an amphitheater would be built next to it.
A trail would encircle the campus and could one day be linked to one that joins Central City with Powderly and Greenville, Rhoads said.
Rhoads said the technology building is ranked second and the humanities buildings third on an MCC priorities list behind a technology building for the main campus.
That suits Mercer, who said he was surprised by the size of the project and the speed at which expansion is needed.
"I'm happy to see MCC has put an emphasis on our campus and put us on the list," he said. "For this county to ever prosper, education has to be a point of emphasis."