"You are building an institution with a heart," remarked State Representative Mary Murphy at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College on Monday, just prior to the ceremonial ground breaking for the school's 48,500-square-foot expansion project.
Murphy went on to explain the heart of any institution of higher learning has to be its library and technology center, and she predicted the upcoming 12,400-square-foot expansion to FDLTCC's Ruth A. Myers Library will take the facility to "just where it should be." It will include library book stack space for some 38,000 volumes, student seating/quiet study space, reading rooms and group study rooms, an exhibit gallery, a library classroom for research and instruction and archive space.
"Ruth Myers was an educational leader unsurpassed in the state of Minnesota," Murphy stated, adding the former chair of the state school board was always a proponent of access and communication and that the expanded library facility will "keep the promise and memory of Ruth Myers alive."
"I can hardly wait...." Murphy concluded. "This is our future - the heart that pumps."
In addition to the library expansion, the $12,390,000 building project includes a 34,300-square-foot cultural and recreational center, to be named in the memory of the school's first president, the late Lester Jack Briggs. The center will include a great hall (gymnasium) for cultural and physical education events for the school's new basketball and volleyball programs, a fitness training area and locker rooms, a multi-purpose activity classroom, cultural exhibit area, law enforcement training classrooms and simulation labs, a clinical nursing lab and classroom, two standard classrooms and law enforcement and nursing program offices.
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Also taking part in Monday's ground breaking ceremony were FDLTCC President Donald Day, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Allan Johnson, Cloquet Mayor Bruce Ahlgren, State Representative Bill Hilty and State Senator Tony Lourey. Faculty member Bryan Jon Maciewski conducted the ceremonial pipe ceremony, and Phil Defoe performed a chief's song on the hand drum in memory of Briggs.
"This has become one of the most beautiful campuses in the state of Minnesota," remarked Day. "This latest expansion project will allow us to stay current in meeting the needs of our students and...better plan for the future."
The current project is the fourth phase of development for the school, including the completion of the original facility, the addition of student housing and an academic expansion in 2003.
Day said the college, which will observe its 20th anniversary this fall, has exhibited 93 percent population growth over the past five years and said the current student enrollment is 1,190, adding the school graduated 230 students in May.
"Our staff, faculty and students have worked hard for 20 years to establish the excellent reputation of our college," Day said, "and one of the rewards for that hard work is continued growth, new and expanded programs and the construction of new facilities."
Ahlgren, who was chair of the Cloquet School Board 20 years ago when the idea of a community college was first being discussed, said he did "a lot of lobbying" in the legislature to get the school started.
"We used to say the college was a diamond in the rough," Ahlgren commented. "Well, now it's going platinum!"
The current expansion project, located to the south of the most recent academic addition, is expected to take some 14 months to complete, just in time for the start of the 2008 fall semester classes. Funding for the project was secured during the 2005-2006 legislative bonding session. The project architect is AmerINDIAN Architecture of St. Paul, and the general contractor is Merrimac Construction, Inc., of East Bethel, Minn.
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"This school has always played a significant role in Minnesota education," concluded Hilty in his remarks. "I believe it will become more and more obviously important as time goes by. There is a lot to be learned here - and a lot to be taught."
The ceremonial "turning of the soil" by program participants was followed by a traditional feast inside the college commons area.
Pine Journal Publisher/ reporter Wendy Johnson can be contacted at: wjohnson@pinejorunal.com .
