Glad it passed.
Yes, it's a start. I just wish it would've been bigger.
Rose State College prepares for some changes, including dorms
Rose State College is adding student housing and a soccer program.
A number of campus renovations also will be made with bond funds approved by voters last year.
By Kathryn McNutt Published: February 16, 2014
Rose State College prepares for some changes, including dorms | News OK
MIDWEST CITY — Changes are coming to Rose State College — a lot of changes.
“Rose State is going to be exciting,” President Jeanie Webb said. “This campus will be a very different place in a few years.”
Foremost is the addition of student housing. Plans call for opening a residential hall by August 2015.
It's something students have been saying they want for a long time, Webb said.
“We will be the only urban community college with housing” in Oklahoma, she said.
Rose State also is building a soccer field and adding a soccer program beginning this fall. The college already has baseball and softball.
With the addition of soccer, Rose State has hired Joey DaVault as its first full-time athletic director.
“We are going to roll out a men's and women's program. We're going to be competitive,” DaVault said.
The Rose State College Student Senate voted to increase the student activity fee to help pay for the soccer program.
“Sports is an important part of the college experience,” DaVault said, and the students have said they would like more offerings.
“Anytime you can connect a student to something on campus, they are much more likely to graduate,” Webb said.
Rose State's nearly 8,000 students come in three categories and want different things, she said.
There are adult students, online students and traditional college students who recently graduated from high school.
“A college student wants an experience like they get at a university,” Webb said.
Rose State's fitness center, leadership programs and student organizations offer that, but being able to live on campus will increase the “student life experience,” she said.
Student housing
The housing project has been approved by the college's board of regents, but details haven't been finalized, said Kent Lashley, vice president for administrative services.
Preliminary talks call for room for 150 to be built on the northwest part of campus through a private-public partnership, Lashley said.
The addition of student housing brings with it a variety of needs, including security, food service and parking, he said.
Bond projects
Renovation of existing structures across campus — funded by a $22 million bond issue — will begin in March.
“We're going to start with the aquatic center,” Webb said.
It's more than 30 years old and the “most utilized space on campus,” Lashley said.
From water aerobics for older adults to swim lessons for 4-year-olds, the facility offers programs for a wide range of people in the community. High schools host swim meets in the pool and Tinker Air Force Base personnel train and test there.
The aquatic center will get a new roof, decking and tile work, Lashley said.
The 15-year bond issue approved by voters last March also will fund renovations to the library, known as the Learning Resource Center.
“We hope we will have enough in the budget to be able to expand it as well as update it and make it more of a library of the present and the future with digital media and social areas,” Lashley said.
Technology upgrades are also planned.
“I just don't think you're going to recognize what this campus is going to look like in a few years,” Webb said. “The energy and the enthusiasm and the excitement on this campus is coming alive.”
This is awesome! Hope to see it happen. I had always wanted OCCC to build dorms on their campus.
That's great to hear. I think it will actually be a very good thing to get dorms, but I'd like to see how they set the qualifications for residents.
What do you guys think here? Here are a couple thoughts I had on that front:
1 - First thought was to say, only have it available to full-time students. That way it would offset the cost of going to school without being able to work a full-time job.
2 - It's a community college, so typically one would see a student population that is NOT a full time student. So it complicates the mix a little here. I'm sure there's a balance for each person on where to convert from a part/full time student based on expenses. This might allow more students to go full-time. Of course there should be restrictions on the residents like one would see at a university dorm as well.
3 - Apt style / Dorm style, which do you think? I'm sure they already have it planned out. There are benefits to each, but I think I would lean more towards the dorm style given that it's a CC and that it's sort of an assumed short-term experience given that it's a CC....and there are so many cheap alternatives for apartments in MWC/Del City. It's not Norman where they can jack the rent up to 3 times what it's worth just because it's across the street from campus.
I am a bit curious as to why they are pursuing Soccer and not working to bring back Basketball. They have a gymnasium already, but I can also see the operating costs of a gym being higher than that of a soccer field. Is it that simple or is there more at play with this? Or why not Tennis? Since the courts are already there, it would make even more sense to use them instead of Soccer. My fear with Soccer now is that they will build a structure near Traub (heck, maybe they'll be able to built it ON the Traub site and not have to do it this way), and then end up fencing off an area used by countless 6-12 year old soccer teams for practice. I think almost every one of my soccer teams growing up, practiced on that strip of grass.
Just some rambling thoughts. If anyone has any insider info on it, it would be awesome. I might be able to squeeze something out of a relative. If I can, i'll post it
I like soccer because of what should be growing popularity of the sport in OKC with the rise of Energy FC.
I'm concerned about the dorms. Hope they won't turn out like the nearby apartments.
But in general I love the idea of Rose expanding. It was my first college and I enjoyed my time there.
I've scoured the interwebs and can not find a single rendering. Called up to Rose, but no help there.
It's not nearly as far along as that. I was told that it's really a year further out than reported to the media.
However, the soccer field will be on the site of the Traub playground with the practice field being next to it. Apparently there's some drainage problems to have to clear up before they can really build there though. We may not see Traub dozed either. Rose is going to look at the structure more closely after they take over the building after this school year....remember they already own it.
rl.jpg
Residence Life | Rose State College
Some Renderings
This project is now out to bid and is estimated to cost $18 million:
https://www.rose.edu/content/news-ev...olition-event/
That's a little weird because most of the items on that list, were already in that building (cafeteria, meeting hall, bookstore). I feel like they could have added on to the structure to get the other student services in there. But at the same time, the place is old and its definitely due a real facelift.
New student union.
Photos from the contractor, CMS Willowbrook.
As an alum, I always like to see RSC get some love
They've actually been able to spend quite a bit of money in the last few years on several rather expensive projects. I do wonder why they took so long to do some of this work and if they have all of this money (and the money to run the places later), why did they need to cancel basketball and aquatics?
The student union is very beautiful, it will be a great addition
Press release:
************
ROSE STATE COLLEGE TO RECEIVE $1.3 MILLION FROM THE TANENBAUM FAMILY
Donation ceremony to be held in Midwest City with Gov. Stitt
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 25, 2021) – A donation ceremony will be held on Thursday, Oct. 28, at Rose State College (Rose State) where Glenna and Dick Tanenbaum will be delivering a $1.3 million check for the Tanenbaum Aerospace and Cybersecurity Center. The $1.3 million donation will go towards naming rights to the new facility, program equipment and furnishings.
“We could not be more grateful for the Tanenbaum generosity towards our mission of delivering high-quality learning opportunities to our students,” Rose State President Dr. Webb said. “By training skilled cybersecurity and aerospace professionals, we are helping Oklahoma’s businesses and economy grow more securely and efficiently.”
One of the most significant employment generators in Oklahoma is the aerospace and cybersecurity industry. The new and improved Tanenbaum Aerospace and Cybersecurity Center will aid in giving Rose State students state-of-the-art equipment to master their degree before entering the workforce.
“In order to keep this success going, we have to provide high tech employers an educated workforce. What better place to do that than Rose State College right next door to Tinker Air Force base?” Gardner Tanenbaum Principal Owner and CEO Dick Tanenbaum said. “These airmen are patriots and warriors who must be trained to support the defense of our country. They depend on a well-trained and educated workforce. If companies can’t recruit the talent, then they are going to stop expanding and coming here. Education is a critical element of Oklahoma’s future prosperity.”
The Rose State College Center of Workforce Excellence in Aerospace and Cybersecurity established in 2019 represents higher education, career tech, industry partners and communities working together to answer the workforce needs with educational pathways, stackable credentials and training.
“Oklahoma has been wonderful to us and this is a way our family can reinvest in the community we love,” said Glenna Tanenbaum. “This donation will go directly to the classroom, directly to the equipment and resources, to teach the next generation of cybersecurity and aerospace warriors.”
The donation ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 28, will be held at 2 p.m. at the Rose State College Student Union.
To learn more about Rose State and the Center of Workforce Excellence in Aerospace and Cybersecurity, visit https://www.trainingatrose.com/cente...ce-excellence/.
###
About Rose State College:
Rose State College is a two-year community college in Midwest City, Oklahoma. Founded in 1970, Rose State now welcomes more than 13,000 students each year. Rose State offers more than 60 different degree programs and among the lowest cost of tuition in the State of Oklahoma.
--
There are currently 13 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 13 guests)
Bookmarks