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LLCC Gets $778,000 State Grant ; Money Will Be Used to Upgrade Classrooms at Taylorville Campus

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By BRENDA PROTZ CORRESPONDENT

TAYLORVILLE - Lincoln Land Community College will replace mobile classrooms used since 1996 with help from a state grant of more than $778,000 to build a new education center in Taylorville.

The LLCC Foundation is contributing another $272,000.

"Christmas came early," Kent Gray, chairman of the Lincoln Land board of trustees, said Wednesday during an announcement ceremony at the Taylorville campus.

The funds will go toward construction of a 5,000-square-foot building at the Eastern Region Education Center, LLCC's satellite campus in Taylorville. The state grant of $778,949 is through the Opportunity Returns program.

College officials said work should begin next spring for a facility that includes four classrooms, a computer lab and conference space. Completion is expected by the spring semester of 2007.

Jim Brubaker, executive director of the Taylorville center, said two classrooms will have capacity for 30 students and computer access. Another room will serve as a computer classroom - as well as being available for other purposes - and the fourth will have capacity for 24 students and facilities for nursing courses.

"It gives us some quality classroom space for delivery of instruction," said Brubaker.

"This building will give us an educational permanence."

The Taylorville center houses vocational programs for welding and building trades as well as general coursework toward a General Equivalency Diploma (GED), a certified nursing assistant training program and associate's degrees.

Brubaker told state and local officials at Wednesday's ceremony that enrollment at the Taylorville center has continued to grow.

"In the spring of 2004, our enrollment was 767; in the spring of 2005, it was 942 students; and so far for the upcoming spring semester, we have 1,025 enrolled. We have grown significantly," he said.

Gray, a local attorney, recalled there were no regional centers when he attended Lincoln Land. Now, there are centers throughout the college district, which covers 15 counties.

"LLCC is the largest geographic district in Illinois, and we serve more than 18,000 students every year," Gray said.

Mayor Frank Mathon said the idea of a permanent college campus has been around for years.

"This has been through several administrations, and it's good that our many administrations have seen the importance. This is the fruition of a dream and a vision," said Mathon, adding that the new facility would aid local economic development.

"What do people look at when looking at a community? They look at infrastructure, education, housing and hospitals. Well, this is it," Mathon said.

Source: State Journal Register

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