Welding, massage expansions planned for East Campus
By Jacob Wise
IV Leader Staff, Nov. 13, 2003
Expansions are on the drawing board for East Campus facilities following Project NOA’s departure.
IVCC board members toured the East Campus facilities in October to see what the plan of attack is for expansion to fill the void left by Project NOA.
Some of the plans currently on the agenda for the future are expansion of the successful truck driving program, development of a new welding program and expansion of the therapeutic massage program.
Jerry Corcoran, vice president of business services and finance, said, “When we gave our board the tour last month, one board member, in particular, Mrs. (Deb) Sweeden, was very complimentary of how well the whole
Project NOA transition has been handled by the administration, a well as our vision of future.”
IVCC decided in the spring that it would no longer allow Project NOA to use its East Campus facilities because of the college’s financial difficulties and a need for more space. Project NOA officially ended its service on Oct. 1.
IVCC now is looking to the future on how best to use the vacated space on the East Campus.
Currently, the state of Illinois is in a budgetary crisis, and because of this crisis, many community colleges are receiving less than one third of their operating funds from the state. Colleges like IVCC have to be resourceful in this matter due to the dwindling monetary involvement on behalf of the state, Corcoran said.
Corcoran attributes the success of the current expansion of the IVCC East Campus to, “assisting in the transition of Project NOA to alternate sponsors, investing in revenue-generating programs like truck driver training, therapeutic
massage, and welding. Our administration and board are working together to solve financial problems.”
“As a team, we’ll be successful because of our ability to always think proactively, rather than in a reactive mode to challenging financial situations” Corcoran added.
The truck-driving program will have another classroom and more office space added. Renovation is planned to Building 6 where Project NOA’s administration office and meal prep areas were.
Also, in Building 6, the welding program is scheduled to begin construction, once the expires that is held by the Voluntary Action Center in Project NOA’s kitchen area.
Regarding the vacancy in Building 11 Corcoran said, “This building had been shared by the senior center (a component of the Project NOA operation), and our therapeutic massage program. The massage program clearly needed more room.
“Now that the senior center is being handled by a new sponsor, Alternatives for Older Adults, the expansion of therapeutic massage, including its massage clinic, can become a reality.”