It’s beginning to look a lot like the Cambridge Campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) may receive its $10.4 million capital building request to add a 34,000 square foot addition to the Campus Center and demolish the pole-constructed buildings. This capital request is part of the bonding bill that was agreed to on March 30 by Governor Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders in the Minnesota House and Senate.

The bonding bill is expected to be approved by the House and Senate, and signed by the Governor within a week. If approved, construction is scheduled to begin as early as August 2005 and occupancy is scheduled for April 2007.

“This is huge step toward full funding for Anoka-Ramsey Community College’s project at the Cambridge Campus,” says ARCC President Patrick Johns. “Our legislators, specifically Representative Rob Eastlund and Senator Sean Nienow, have been very supportive and we want to thank them! Other legislators in the Coon Rapids and St. Cloud areas have also shown their commitment to higher education by supporting this project.

“One of the goals of Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) is to provide a thriving learning-teaching environment on the Cambridge Campus. This capital project addresses the instructional priorities of the campus. As our curriculum changes to prepare students for a competitive marketplace, the infrastructure also needs to change.”

Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) representatives meet with key legislators at the State Capital to express the importance and necessity of a new building at the college’s Cambridge Campus. Pictured from left are Michael Seymour, ARCC Vice President for Administration; Representative Dan Dorman, Chairman of the House Capital Investment Committee; Representative Rob Eastlund; Barbara Prince, ARCC faculty member; Patrick Johns, ARCC President; Susan Tarnowski, ARCC Vice President of Educational Services; Brad Wold, ARCC faculty member; (front, center) Betty Petron of Stanchfield, Minn., a Senior Vocational Counselor for the Blaine Workforce Center and an ARCC College Advisory Committee member.

The capital project will strengthen students’ capacity to obtain a quality education. The current 23-year-old, temporary buildings pose health and safety concerns, and the deferred maintenance projects will cost more than the value of the buildings. The proposed permanent space includes new computer labs, new nursing and general classrooms, science labs, and an improved technology infrastructure.

(SUB) THE BONDING BILL
The ARCC Cambridge Campus project is just one of many projects that are part of the statewide bonding bill. This bill includes dozens of capital construction projects around the state including several for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) as well as the well-known Northstar commuter rail line.

ABOUT ANOKA-RAMSEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Anoka-Ramsey Community College, with campuses in Cambridge and Coon Rapids, has been a leading provider of higher education and training in East Central Minnesota since 1978 and the north suburban area of Minneapolis/St. Paul since 1965. Annually, the college serves more than 9,000 learners of all ages as they pursue associate degrees that transfer as the first two years of a bachelor's degree, or certificate programs that lead immediately to rewarding careers. Anoka-Ramsey Community College is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System.