By President Paul Jarrell
In May 2022, a $14.4M bond was approved by Tillamook County voters, allowing Tillamook Bay Community College (TBCC) to construct a new Healthcare Education Building. With another $8M from the Oregon Legislature and a $1.4M bond premium, $23.8M in bond dollars are available for this project.
With much input from community members, TBCC employees, and Board members, we have completed our design and recently solicited interest in contractor bids. The 28,000-square-foot building will include a state-of-the-art teaching lab for our new Nursing program as well as a new lab for Emergency Medical Services, allowing for the growth and expansion of that program. Additional classrooms and study spaces will be present to enhance the learning experience for TBCC students. In addition to teaching spaces, the new building will house needed administrative office space and a 360-seat Community Event room, complete with a warming kitchen. We are all very excited to see this building “come to life”. Groundbreaking is scheduled for late spring.
With this new project comes an opportunity to transform TBCC and our community. The new building will be located just south of our current building. Our driveway will be relocated to Brookfield Ave. entrance so we can create a plaza in between the two buildings. With the Main Building, the Healthcare Education Building, a campus plaza, the new Center for Industrial Technology Building, and the Partners for Rural Innovation Building, the TBCC campus is transformed. Please check the TBCC website for floorplans and drawings of the new building and campus.
In addition to all the happenings here at TBCC regarding our new facilities, we have had advances this winter in our student offerings. We have had one of the largest enrollments for winter term. These strong enrollments are the result of new programming in Career Technical Education and Apprenticeship, a new Nursing program, and strong enrollment in dual credit and general education courses.
I feel very lucky to be given the opportunity to lead TBCC and strengthen our connection with the community. We are YOUR college.
TBCC will be hosting an Open House on April 13th, 2:00 – 5:00 pm to showcase our programs and discuss progress on our campus in the making. I do hope you will stop by. More details will be coming.