South Sioux City Project Supported by Legislature, Approved by Governor
Lincoln – Governor Dave Heineman approved funding for a history-making higher education collaboration in South Sioux City today. The appropriation will allow Wayne State College in Wayne, a member of the Nebraska State College System (NSCS) and Northeast Community College in Norfolk to construct a college center to serve the Siouxland area.
“This is a great day for our state and community. We applaud the Governor’s support for this unique joint campus. This action will pave the way for better training and educational services for citizens and businesses in the Siouxland area. The funding for this campus by the unicameral, led by Senator Pat Engel and Speaker Mike Flood, was instrumental in moving this phenomenal project forward,” Mayor of South Sioux City Bob Giese said.
The new center was approved by the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees and the Northeast Community College Board of Governors in February 2005. The Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education then recommended approval of the center in December 2006.
“It is obvious to me that Governor Heineman shares our vision for an innovative joint venture in South Sioux City,” Northeast President Dr. Bill Path said. “He knows, as we do, that it will pay great dividends in a better-educated constituency in northeast Nebraska, and at the same time, this combination of resources will save money. Rather than two institutions building two separate, competing facilities, this joint facility will become a model for other educational institutions seeking to expend their services.”
When the center opens, place-bound students will be able to take their freshman and sophomore courses from Northeast and then take junior and senior or graduate courses from Wayne State College all in the same facility. The facility is scheduled to open by the fall of 2010.
“The counties in and around South Sioux City have the fastest growing populations in the state. We wanted to build a new college center to provide extensive educational and cultural benefits to individuals in this area. This joint project is just another example of how our colleges – both community colleges and the Nebraska State College System – can work together for the benefit of the state,” NSCS Chancellor Stan Carpenter said.
The 44,520-square-foot center will be built on 57 acres of land donated by the South Sioux City Community Development Association (CDA). The CDA Board of Directors approved the project earlier this fall.
“This appropriation will add state funding to resources from Northeast, the South Sioux City Economic Development Agency, federal sources, and corporate and private gifts. This unique college-community college-city partnership will bring enhanced higher education to an area that is booming economically, but under served educationally,” President of Wayne State College Dr. Richard Collings said.
The $14,619,087 project, including the estimated $2.1 million land donation, will house general, distance learning, and business and industry learning community classrooms, and computer labs. Additionally, two science laboratories, a medical and health lab, a library, testing and tutoring areas, a bookstore and administrative/faculty/student services offices, and associated service and storage areas are planned in the facility.
The Nebraska State College System serves close to 8,000 students from Nebraska and surrounding states through three geographically diverse institutions: Chadron, Peru and Wayne State Colleges. Combined, the three colleges offer more than 200 degree, certificate, and pre-professional programs that are accessible on the three campuses, via the Internet, and in several satellite locations throughout the state. With more than 250 credentialed faculty members and 50,000 successful graduates, the NSCS provides significant human and intellectual capital that contributes to the current and future economic strength of the State of Nebraska.