By Dr. Ross Tomlin, President
The Oregon State Legislature just completed their biennium session where they develop and approve the state budget for the next two years. One of the other items they approve every two years are requests by colleges for capital construction funds to build new facilities. For community colleges, the maximum we can receive is $8 million or no more than 50% of the construction cost. I want to thank our four legislators that represent parts of Tillamook County for their strong support of the college and our request for the $8 million matching funds to help us bring our long-term vision of a new campus building one step closer. That is Senator Betsy Johnson, Senator Dick Anderson, Representative David Gomberg, and Representative Suzanne Weber. Thank you all very much!
The Legislature did approve our request and it is a great start toward the cost of our new campus building that is part of our Facilities Master Plan which will help prepare us for the future. The College is planning for a new 28,000 square foot building to be located just south of the current main campus (across our driveway). The new building will contain many new classrooms and labs for our growing healthcare programs, along with much needed office space and a 360-seat community space that can be used for community meetings and events. This facility will allow the college to continue growing and serving the people of Tillamook County with quality higher education opportunities.
Other exciting plans include developing a new nursing program over the coming year, along with making improvements to our new Center for Industrial Technology Building, which is across the street from the main campus. Then we will be able to start holding manufacturing and welding classes in there, hopefully before this coming academic year is completed. More on these projects as they progress.
Over the coming months, we will be sharing more information with the community about our plans for the new facility and these other projects. In addition, we are completing our seven-year accreditation cycle this fall and will be developing a new seven-year strategic plan to take effect in 2022. Part of this process will involve engaging the public in discussions to help us craft our new vision and mission statements and overall direction for the college for the remainder of this decade. We will want to have as many Tillamook County citizens as possible involved in these discussions.
It is an exciting time for TBCC. We are working hard to ensure the college has the programs, services, and facilities available to meet the changing needs of students and to grow a trained workforce for local businesses. The future for TBCC is bright.