Nearly 200 people gathered
on the Cambridge Campus of Anoka-Ramsey
Community College on Aug. 16 to celebrate
as the college broke ground on a $10.4
million, 34,000-square-foot addition
to the main Campus Center.
The funding for the addition comes
from the $213.6 million Minnesota State
Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) System
2005 Capital Budget Bill signed by
Governor Tim Pawlenty on April 11. Construction of the building addition
is expected to take eighteen months.
The addition will include computer
labs, nursing labs, general classrooms,
renovated science labs, and an improved
technology infrastructure. It will
also feature a large multi-purpose
room available for community use as
well as a large lecture hall. The added
space will allow the college to vacate
the two 23-year-old pole-constructed
buildings on the west side of county
road 70.
“This is a long-awaited project,” said
ARCC President Patrick M. Johns at
the ground breaking ceremony. “Fortunately,
it has received great student and staff
support, community support, local legislative
support and proved to have great overall
legislative support. In short, it’s
a project in which everyone could see
the value and benefit to students.”
Many of the local and state officials
and community members who helped build
support for the project were on hand
at the ceremony. Those speaking to
the crowd included Cambridge Mayor
Marlys Palmer, State Rep. Rob Eastlund,
State Senator Sean Nienow, MnSCU Chancellor
James McCormick, MnSCU Board of Trustee
member Cheryl Dickson, ARCC Cambridge
Campus Dean of Educational Services
Deidra Peaslee, Cambridge Campus Director
of Student Services Charlotte Lindahl,
Cambridge Campus Faculty Association
President Barbara Prince, and Cambridge
Campus Student Senate President Anna
Driscoll.
MnSCU Chancellor James McCormick,
in his remarks to the crowd, emphasized
the importance of this community support,
stating, “Strong relationships
such as the bond between the community
and the Cambridge Campus help make
our campuses stronger. More than ever,
the support of citizens and benefactors
is crucial to our mission of providing
access to higher education.”
The Cambridge Campus addition represents
one of 32 MnSCU capital improvement
projects receiving funding by the state
legislature this year.
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