STC’S New Health and Business Center Moving Forward
(SANDERSVILLE)—Gov. Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 119 into law on May 13th which included Sandersville Tech’s new Health Sciences and Business Development Center for the Sandersville campus – a 45,000-square-foot home for allied health programs and economic development division of the College.
 Design work will begin later this year and early estimates project the facility opening late 2011 or early 2012. Sandersville Tech will have nearly $10.2 million to spend for design and construction of the building that has been needed for more than eight years.
“With the growth of our allied health programs, we need more space to serve more students in the programs we offer,” reports Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs Erica Harden. “This new building will have larger classrooms, new equipment, expanded computer programs for the medical field, and more labs for hands-on learning.”
The new labs will simulate clinical settings such as nursing homes, hospital rooms, and doctor’s offices so that students can practice their skills in a real-world setting prior to clinical rotations in the community. This expansion will also allow the College to offer new programs –such as Paramedic Technology - that require specialized equipment for training.
The new facility will also add additional training rooms and computer labs desperately needed to train the increased number of students at STC. The facility will also be available to local businesses that need meeting spaces for both small and large events. With the additional space, continuing education class offerings can be expanded to serve the general public and local business and industries.
“Specialized business training – for computer classes or MSHA safety classes – is a large part of what we do on a daily basis,” explains Vice President of Economic Development Leigh Evans. “We have the ability to do so many things and now we will have the space to do it.”
The new facility will also house STC’s new library. This move allows the current library holdings to be expanded 10-fold. New study rooms will be available, as well as additional computer access for students.
The transition of classes in the current building to the new one will allow for the expansion of other programs that need extra space and expanding the student affairs area that provides essential student services such as registration and financial aid.
The building will allow STC to service an additional 400 credit students per quarter.
“We are so appreciative of the support we received for this new building and our College,” extends STC President Dr. Lloyd Horadan. “This project has taken many years and the support of many people to come to fruition. I especially extend our thanks to Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Senator Bill Jackson, Representative J.B. Powell, Representative Mack Jackson, TCSG State Board Member Ben Tarbutton, Jr., STC’s Board of Directors, and STC’s Foundation Trustees.
“The people of our 5-county service area deserve the best educational opportunities available; and we give that to them. We train people to go to work right here in our area. Now, we will be able to serve more people with more programs for jobs available now and those yet to come.”
May 27, 2009
(2009, June 5). The Warrenton Clipper, p9.
(2009, June 10). The Sandersville Progress, 1A).
(2009, June 18). The Sandersville Progress, p11).
(2009, June 25). The News and Farmer / Jefferson Reporter, p10A.
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