Liberal Arts and the Disabled Students Programs and Services have a new home in the newly finished LA and DSPS building.
President Linda Lacy began the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, July 16 in front of the building.
Despite technical difficulties during the speeches given by Board President Carmen Avalos and ASCC President Miles Aiello, the ribbon cutting ceremony drew a crowd of faculty, students, Tilden-Coil employees and members of the community. After, tours of the building were given to attendees.
The Mayor of Cerritos, Mark Pulido, was present for the ribbon cutting. “I think it’s a wonderful addition to Cerritos College and also to the community,” he said.
“The common thread that I got here is that there is a tremendous love for Cerritos College, for the community, for promoting learning and development for our students,” Pulido added.
Along with new computer labs, smart boards and smart classrooms, the building is also environmentally friendly. Aiello said, “One of the major things I’m really advocating in student government is green technology.”
The building features solar panel technology and more efficient piping. “We are saving money and teaching students a new era of technology that is available,” Aiello said.
“It’s very modern and brings new technology, this kind of modern style is good for the learning environment,” said Board of Trustee member Shin Liu. She believes that the new building would encourage students to take pride in their school and to do better.
The old Liberal Arts building – renamed the Multipurpose building – will be used to house the computer information systems classes while the new Technology building is being built.
A separate project to remodel the Learning Resource Center will have the LRC functions also moved to the Multipurpose building. Human Resources will also be moved to the Multipurpose building.
“We can expand our student services and counseling area. We are hiring more counselors so we need more space. It’s really for all the counseling, financial aid and admissions,” Lacy said.
Among other projects are the new Child Development Center, which has been scheduled for completion in December 2014.
The new Fine Arts and Technology buildings will be built simultaneously and are to be completed by June 2016.
Dean of Liberal Arts, David Fabish, said that the new, elegant building would provide students with what they deserved. “Sometimes I fear that the students are denied the full college experience,” Fabish said.
He feels that the physical environment is another feature of the college experience. “A building like this, this graceful, elegant and well designed communicates to students their value and it suggest that they are significant and as capable and as talented as other student in this country.”
Information on Cerritos College’s future and upcoming projects can be found at: http://cms.cerritos.edu/master-plan/
Photo gallery by: Daniel Linares, Multimedia Editor.
