WCC's new Student Center ready for debut
Waubonsee Community College will hold a grand opening Friday to showcase its new $17 million, 58,000-square-foot Student Center on the main campus in Sugar Grove, Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive.
The festivities will begin with a student open house at noon, a formal ceremony at 2 p.m. and a community open house from 2:45 to 4 p.m. Smash from the Drex morning show on KISS-FM will perform from noon to 2 p.m. The college's steel drum combo will perform during the community open house. Tours will be available.
The new center centralizes student services, provides a place for students and faculty to connect outside the classroom, and provides recent high school graduates with a more traditional college campus.
"For more than four decades, Waubonsee has helped countless students find success," WCC President Christine Sobek said. "While much of this success stems from what is learned in the classroom under the direction of our dynamic and engaging faculty, dedicated and caring staff members in a variety of departments also help to ensure that students reach their full potential. Service has long been a core value for the college, and this new Student Center consolidates our student services under one roof, creating new synergies and strengthening these departments' positive impact on all students."
The new center houses admissions, financial aid, counseling, student support services (including those for students with disabilities), career services and other departments.
The Student Center features a cafe and coffee bar and a dining room. There are also computer workstations with free wireless Internet service for students.
The college enrolls about 10,000 students, including a growing, full-time student population. Half of the students who are earning credit toward a degree or certification are younger than 22.
Construction began in February, 2007. The new center is part of the 2020 College Master Plan and is the fourth new building to open under the master plan at the Sugar Grove campus. The others were Campus Operation, the Science Building and the Academic and Professional Center. The plan also calls for a new downtown Aurora campus and construction of a Plano campus.
For reservations to Friday's open house, call (630) 466-7900, ext. 2411, or visit waubonsee.edu/studentcenter.