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Southern Union State Community College held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new renovations to the Valley campus on Tuesday. The revonations, which have been ongoing for over two years, included upgrades to the library, conference room as well as several classrooms and laboratories. Additionally, one of the larger rooms was completely renovated to serve the dual purpose of being a dynamic classroom and a community center for local clubs and organizations. 

Todd Shackett, President of Southern Union State Community College, noted how important these renovations were to the health of the school. Additionally, Shackett discussed the future programs coming to the Valley campus of SUSCC. 

“We are so thankful for the funding that we received to make these great changes to the Valley campus, and I feel that we have put the money to very good use,” Shackett said. “In addition to what you see today, we will also be adding a brand new Veterinary Technician program, which will be housed right here in the Valley campus. I imagine that this program will fill up quickly and will be highly competitive.”

Linda North, SUSCC’s Dean of Academics, said that the new renovations would be instrumental in helping students succeed with their college education. One of the biggest changes includes the addition of rolling chairs and tables to allow for the quick rearrangement of classrooms depending on the needs of the students and faculty. 

“We know that students only retain 5% of information after 24 hours when they are taught by lecturing,” North said. “With these new renovations, such as the rolling chairs and the televisions screens that are going to be placed all the way around the rooms, we are hoping to encourage active learning. By creating an environment that fosters active learning, we hope that we will be able to help with student retention, recruitment and post-graduate success.” 

The funding for the project came from several education grants sponsored by House Representative Debbie Wood. Wood noted how excited she was for the funding to be used for the project.

“As a graduate of Southern Union myself, I was so excited that we were able to use this funding to make some much needed changes to the Valley campus,” Wood said. “I think this project is really going to help the Valley community, and I think the students are really going to benefit from the project.”