New Round Rock Campus facilities will support training in healthcare, information technology, and skilled trades.
Almost eight years to the day after Austin Community College broke ground on a campus to serve the rapidly growing Round Rock area, college and community leaders gathered to celebrate the next phase of development.
More than 250 guests attended a ceremonial groundbreaking for a 45,000 square-foot general education building and renovations to support several Health Sciences Area of Study programs. Funding for the project was part of a successful 2014 bond referendum.
See photos from the event below.
ACC President/CEO Dr. Richard Rhodes said the additions will allow the college to expand educational opportunities at the campus, which has operated at capacity since it opened in 2010.
“It just keeps going strong, thanks to the Round Rock community,” he said. Rhodes and other guest speakers emphasized the importance of the collaborations that support the campus and the training it provides.
“Over the last eight years, one of our strongest partnerships has been with ACC,” said Round Rock City Council Member Writ Baese. “ACC provides a vital link between schools and the business community.”
Round Rock Chamber of Commerce President Mike Odom also said that Round Rock Campus programs are a direct reflection of community needs.
“When we support our community college, we’re supporting our own future,” he said. “There is no more critical time for us to be investing in our workforce, and this new structure will do that.”
The construction and renovations will expand campus capacity by 1,000 students and add specialized facilities for high-demand programs like nursing, sonography, and surgical technology. The project will add the college’s second ACCelerator, an instructional lab with more than 140 computer stations for self-paced online learning supported by onsite faculty, tutors, and librarians.
Student Cody Kearse spoke about the benefits of the ACCelerator lab.
ACC student Cody Kearse spoke to guests about his experience of returning to college and working in the ACCelerator at ACC’s Highland Campus. He said faculty and staff there were always eager to help.
“There’s a strong culture of support and encouragement,” he said. “If you are a student who is starting on your way, this is a great place to do it.”
ACC expects to open the new Round Rock building in summer 2018. Renovations are scheduled to be complete in fall 2018 and spring 2019.
The first phase of the Round Rock Campus was the largest building project the college had undertaken at the time. It now is part of a cluster of higher education facilities that includes campuses for Texas State University and Texas A&M University’s Health Science Center.
In fall 2016 the college opened Round Rock Early College High School, the first early college high school to be housed entirely on an ACC campus. Students attend class in portable buildings; however, the college is working with Round Rock Independent School District officials on proposals for a permanent early college and health professions facility to be located at the campus. The construction would be financed through an RRISD bond referendum.
Follow the progress of Round Rock phase 2 and other ongoing capital improvement projects on ACC’s Bond Construction Projects website.
Tags: bond, bond projects, Round Rock Campus, Round Rock Campus phase 2
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By Jennifer Rigsby March 3, 2017 - 9:14 pm
Austin Community College Diagnostic Medical Imaging – Radiology students from the Round Rock Campus! Thank you Alexandra Lee, Valeriane McNeill, and Rosemarie Ochoa for representing the program at the Round Rock groundbreaking ceremony!!