VGCC Dedicates South Campus Addition

Vance-Granville Community College officially dedicated an addition to its South Campus on April 19. The addition to the facility, located on N.C. 56 between Butner and Creedmoor, has been used by students since the spring 2007 semester began in January.Donald C. Seifert, Sr., the chair of the college Board of Trustees, welcomed guests, declaring the event a “red-letter day in the 25-year history of the South Campus.” The dedication, Seifert said, “represents not only enhancement of the college’s physical facilities, but even more importantly, increased opportunity for the people of Granville County — and particularly the growing southern section of the county — to receive the education and training they need.”VGCC President Randy Parker recognized the local officials in attendance, including former state Rep. Stan Fox, Granville County commissioners Ronald Alligood, W.E. “Pete” Averette and Hubert L. Gooch, Jr., and Creedmoor Mayor Darryl D. Moss. Parker also recognized Danny Guin, the former VGCC Director of New Construction who oversaw the building project until his recent retirement. Ronald Alligood, chairman of the Granville County Board of Commissioners, thanked the college for its willingness “to step up to the plate” to meet the educational needs of Granville County residents. David Brooks, the vice-chair of the VGCC board of trustees and member of the board’s Building Committee, presented the building to the college. He praised the general contractor for the project, H.G. Reynolds Co. of Henderson, and the architects – Dove, Knight, Whitehurst and Andrews of Rocky Mount – for their functional design of the building. Brooks noted that DKWA was the architect for the construction of South Campus in 1987-1988 and for a previous addition to the campus in 1999.Cecilia Wheeler, director of the South Campus, described the 20,000 square feet of new space, which includes seven general classrooms, five computer labs, faculty offices, a conference room, and a new Radiography classroom and lab. One new room is an Information Highway, or VNet, classroom, one of which is now in place at each of Vance-Granville’s four campuses. “VNet allows a South Campus student to participate in a class – in real time – that is being taught by an instructor at another campus, or vice versa,” Wheeler said. “This greatly increases the numbers of courses students at South Campus can take on site. Now, all of our campuses can become like one large classroom.” She invited those attending the dedication to tour the building “and get a glimpse of the potential for the future that this expansion represents.”Brooks, Seifert and Parker unveiled a plaque that will be attached to the wall of the building’s lobby. The plaque contains construction data for the building and lists the members of the Granville County Board of Commissioners, who provide funding for the operation and maintenance of South Campus, as well as the names of area legislators.Construction on the South Campus addition began in late 2005 and continued through the end of 2006. The ground-breaking of the project on October 20, 2005 marked not only a beginning but also an end for the college. It was the last piece of an active construction program in which new classroom buildings were built on each of the college’s four campuses. This series of projects was funded by $17.1 million from the Higher Education Facilities bonds approved by voters in 2000. As part of the construction project, areas of the existing building were also renovated. Among the features of the renovation are an expanded library, which is shared by the college and Granville County. The renovated spaces also include more room for Basic Skills and Adult High School programs and a multi-purpose room that can be rented by community organizations for meetings, banquets, seminars and workshops. Along with these changes to the buildings, 23 parking spaces were added, and a 41-space gravel parking lot was paved.Above: Vance-Granville Community College and Granville County officials cut the ribbon symbolically opening the new addition to the college’s South Campus on April 19. Wielding scissors and looking on, from left, are South Campus director Cecilia Wheeler, VGCC trustee Dr. G. Thomas Houlihan, VGCC President Randy Parker, Granville County Board of Commissioners chairman Ronald R. Alligood, trustee J. David Brooks, Granville County commissioner Hubert Gooch, Jr., Board of Trustees chair Donald C. Seifert, Sr., Granville County commissioner W. E. “Pete” Averette, trustee Henrietta H. Clark, trustee Grace W. Vickery, trustee emeritus John K. Nelms and South Campus assistant director Jason Snelling. (VGCC Photo)