College of Lake County holds ceremonial groundbreaking for Southlake Campus chemistry lab
The College of Lake County held a ceremonial groundbreaking on March 24 at the Southlake Campus in Vernon Hills for a $1.7 million expansion to create a new chemistry lab. The event was held prior to the CLC Board of Trustees' scheduled March meeting held at the campus.
Members of the Southlake Campus Advisory Committee attended the event to celebrate the start of work on the new 2,500-square-foot addition, which will accommodate 18-20 students per class session. In addition to providing a 1,300-square-foot chemistry laboratory, the expansion also will include a 450-square-foot instrument laboratory, 200-square-foot preparation room and a 250-square-foot storage room.
Construction of the addition is scheduled to begin in April and to be completed in December 2015, in time for using the new laboratory for Spring Semester 2016 classes.
"We are adding to our investment in students and south Lake County," said Board Chairman Amanda Howland. "When completed, the new laboratory will allow us to offer upper-level chemistry courses at Southlake and to expand the number of biology classes offered. Students in in-demand STEM fields will be able to complete even more of their requirements in south Lake County."
The project is part of the college's $163 million Sustainable Campus Master Plan, which includes facilities improvements at all three CLC campuses. Components on the Grayslake campus include repairs to the aging heating and air conditioning system, renovation of the B and C wings to create a student services center, a new science building, classroom technology upgrades and a geothermal plant and loop to save on energy costs. Work at the Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan will include a new building and renovations of existing space.
A groundbreaking for Grayslake campus science building will be held on Monday, March 30 at 4 p.m. The $28.3 million project includes a new three-story science building and space renovations for programs in engineering, photonics, chemistry, anatomy and physiology.
For more information, visit www.clcillinois.edu/masterplan.
Bachelor's degree proposal discussed
Board Chairman Amanda Howland and Trustees Barbara Oilschlager and Richard Anderson expressed support of a proposal to allow community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees in nursing and applied technologies. A forum on the proposal was held at the Illinois Community College Trustees Association meeting in Naperville March 13-14.
Anderson said that where community colleges have been granted the authority to award applied bachelor's degrees, they are making a strong impact on workforce development by giving more people the opportunity to earn degrees in their communities.
More than 20 states have granted community colleges the authority to award applied bachelor's degrees.
Athletics: A tool for academic success
Nic Scandrett, director of athletics and physical activities, presented a report on how CLC's athletics program is supporting the college's focus on student success and degree completion.
Scandrett said that he and his staff are tracking the academic performance and class attendance of student athletes, connecting them with academic coaching and other support services and ensuring that athletes have an academic plan to achieve degree completion or transfer to a university.
Staying eligible to compete in sports is a powerful motivation for academic success, and the athletics department wants to leverage that motivation to ensure student athletes succeed academically as well as on the field, Scandrett said.
The department is developing a student-athlete handbook and orientation program focused on integrating athletic and academic performance, he said.
Resolution authorizing property purchase
The trustees passed a resolution authorizing the college president or his designee to ratify an agreement to purchase parcels of property at 30 N. Sheridan Rd. and 111 W. Madison St. in Waukegan at a cost of $1.3 million. The properties are adjacent to CLC's Lakeshore Campus.
New certificate approved
The trustees approved creating a new 18-credit-hour certificate in Teaching English Learners. The new credential is intended for certified teachers and will satisfy the requirements for the Illinois State Board of Education's English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement.
Purchasing
Under biddable purchases, the board approved:
A contract for $312,000 with Direct Steel & Construction of Crystal Lake to build a 350-ton-capacity salt storage building on the Grayslake campus.
A contract for $107,800 with Chicagoland Paving Contractors Inc. of Lake Zurich to repair Parking Lot 6 at the Grayslake campus. The lot sustained damage from PACE buses idling there during driver breaks, and PACE will contribute $52,900 toward the repair.
A contract for $47,800 with Exclaim Inc. of Palatine for the redesign of the Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) website. CLC is the fiscal agent for the organization, which is a consortium of Illinois community colleges providing training and other services to support growth of the green economy.
Under non-biddables, the board approved the purchase of three additional Raiser's Edge software modules for the CLC Foundation at a cost of $57,100 from Blackbaud, Inc. of Charleston, S.C.
Human resources
The board approved the hiring of Matthew Rasmussen as a new psychology instructor, effective Aug. 17, and reappointed 81 administrative and professional personnel for Fiscal Year 2016.