New $14 million building opens at Columbia Basin College

Columbia Basin College’s newest building is proof to Dave Arnold that society supports the efforts of instructors and students.

“I’ve been teaching here for 19 years. Teaching is my dream job,” the history professor told a crowd of faculty, students and administrators Thursday afternoon.

“I’ve never felt that I was living that dream more fully than the first day of this winter quarter ... when I walked, right here, into room 121 to begin teaching my 8 a.m. class.”

Officials celebrated the opening of the new $14 million Social Sciences and World Languages Center with a ribbon cutting and tours. The building opened Tuesday to students and staff.

The center brings psychology, sociology, anthropology, criminal justice, history, political science, philosophy, Spanish, French and Japanese programs into a single 65,000-square-foot facility.

Columbia Basin College President Rich Cummins called the center’s opening a great moment for the college and the Tri-Cities.

The facility includes a lecture hall, 20 smaller classrooms and a criminal justice lab.

Monica Hansen, the social sciences, world languages and assessment dean, pointed out the human development labs, where students can learn about how to be successful at the college.

Along with the more academic-focused features, the open seating areas with computer stations invite students to spend time in the building’s public areas.

College officials want students to succeed, and a way to accomplish the goal is offering areas for students to gather, so they feel comfortable at the campus, Cummins said.

“I started at this college in 1990, and, at the time, the college had been built pretty rapidly through the 50s and 60s — there weren’t a whole lot of convening spaces for students,” he said.

Faculty in the departments also received new offices, increasing their opportunities to work with each other, Hansen and Cummins said. They are able to collaborate on new ideas and learn new methods to teach students.

“When instructors from different departments have the ability to work together, they can see the overlap between their classes and they can see the complementary nature of the classes, they work better together to form whole programs,” Hansen said.

The complete programs lead to more prepared students when they leave the campus.

The state Legislature allotted two-thirds of the money for the structure as part of its 2015 capital budget allocation. The remaining third came from the college’s budget, said Tyrone Brooks, vice president for administrative services.

The building was initially slated for construction in 2007 before the Great Recession strapped state finances. State officials sidelined eight of the 10 other building projects planed for community and technical colleges. State officials began supporting the project in 2013, when they provided funds for the design phase.

It is the first large instructional building on campus since the career and technical education center opened in January 2011.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 7:47 PM with the headline "New $14 million building opens at Columbia Basin College."