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Aug. 27, 2001 BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Ground was broken on the Lake Michigan College The $8.4 million building, designed by Marshburn/Bunkley Associates of The project will be paid for with $6.3 million in state funds approved "Western Michigan University has been committed to the citizens in Gast, chairman of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, was one of LMC President Richard J. Pappas pointed to that model as an effort that "We are proud to be working with Western Michigan University to bring The new WMU-Southwest facility will have a face of two-tone brick and Besides providing both institutions with an opportunity to expand WMU began providing educational programs to the citizens of Berrien, Van Graduate programs that are currently offered at WMU-Southwest are the By the time the new facility opens, five additional programs will be LMC was founded in 1946 and has grown to include three campus sites in WMU media contact: Cheryl Roland, 616 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu
campus today (Aug. 27) for a new building to house Western Michigan
University-Southwest, marking the first time a Michigan university has
chosen to build an instructional facility on a community college campus.
Kalamazoo, is being constructed on LMC's Napier Avenue (Benton Harbor)
campus, near the main entrance, and is expected to be completed and open
for classes in fall 2002. The 45,000-square-foot building is being built
as part of a unique partnership that will expand higher education
opportunities for Southwest Michigan residents by allowing them to take
their first two years of classes at LMC, complete their bachelor's
degrees at WMU and even move on to graduate programs without ever
leaving the area.
when Gov. John Engler signed a capital outlay bill July 19. The
remaining $2.1 million will come from a fund-raising effort already
under way at WMU.
Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties for more than 85 years," said WMU
President Elson S. Floyd. "Our partnership with LMC and this wonderful
new facility will allow us to expand that commitment, increase the
number of our academic offerings and deepen our involvement in the
community. We are grateful to Gov. Engler and the Legislature for
approving state funding for this work, and we owe a special note of
thanks to Sen. Harry Gast for his steadfast support for this important
project."
several Michigan legislators who attended the groundbreaking, along with
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton. Gast spearheaded efforts to fund the partnership
initiative and has praised the effort as a model that assures
cooperation in education and could serve as an example for the rest of
the state and nation.
will make the most of both institutions' resources.
this resource to the community. The partnership that we are building is
a natural extension of the educational opportunities we currently offer
at Lake Michigan College," said Pappas. "This type of innovative
thinking about delivering educational services leverages the strengths
both colleges bring to this project."
insulating glass. Its two wings will be joined by a two-story rotunda
that will provide a gathering place for students on the main floor and a
computer lab on the second floor. It also will feature two science
education laboratories; 12 classrooms, including an interactive video
classroom; two conference rooms; and two designated student study areas.
In addition to its instructional focus, the building also will include
space for a reading clinic and offices for WMU's Center for Community
Asset Building, a unit that manages a wide range of community outreach
activities in Benton Harbor.
academic offerings, being located in close proximity will allow LMC and
WMU to enjoy economies of scale by sharing library, bookstore and other
key resources.
Buren and Cass counties in 1916 and established a permanent presence in
the region in 1966. WMU-Southwest, currently housed at St. Joseph High
School, offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate degree programs
and has an average annual enrollment of 700 to 800 students. These
numbers are expected to double within two to three years after the new
facility opens and the University begins adding more programs and
offering daytime classes.
Graduate Certificate Program in Educational Technology and master of
arts degrees in elementary education, educational leadership and
reading. At the undergraduate level, the University offers bachelor of
arts degrees in elementary education and in general university studies
with a concentration in applied liberal studies and bachelor of science
degrees in nursing and in general university studies with concentrations
in both health studies and occupational education studies.
offered: a master of arts degree in teaching in the middle school; a
master of public administration degree; a bachelor of arts degree in
professional studies; a bachelor of science degree in family studies
with a child development emphasis; and a bachelor of science degree in
interdisciplinary health services.
Benton Harbor and Niles, including it's new M-TEC campus in Benton
Harbor's Edgewater Industrial Park, which opened in fall 2000. More than
7,000 students attend academic classes or corporate training sessions at
LMC annually. They come from a service area that extends from Elkhart,
St. Joseph, and LaPorte counties in Indiana north to South Haven, Mich.,
and includes a population of 270,000. More than 200,000 people also
attend cultural events, meetings and conferences at LMC each year.
LMC media contact: Laura Kraklau, 616 927-8198
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