Liberal, KS

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SCCC Trustees Vote For Classic Name

KSCB News - March 9, 2016 8:19 am

Simplicity and tradition carried the day as college trustees voted to return to Seward County Community College as the institution s official name. The vote followed a four-month process that included historical and legal research, campus-wide discussion, and a comment period in which the public was invited to share opinions about the name.
Board counsel Kerry McQueen advised trustees that despite various creative name suggestions, Kansas law limited the name choice to two options: Liberal Community College or Seward County Community College. Even so, board members and college administration said the discussion process enabled them to remain aware of the wishes of stakeholders in the community.
In the end, this college belongs to our community, said College president, Dr. Ken Trzaska. The comments we ve gathered will not go to waste, but will serve as a basis for additional projects designed to preserve our institutional history, and the stories people have to share.
The board also voted to amend the College s mission statement to reflect a deep commitment to the career and technical education programs that have become part of the college s core identity through the inclusion of Southwest Kansas Area Technical School in 2009.
The new mission statement reads Seward County Community College provides opportunities to enrich and improve each person s life through a range of programs, including technical education, certificate and degree programs, and transferable degree programs, for the advancement of the individual and the community.
This reflects, in a more deliberate way, our commitment to technical education, said College president, Dr. Ken Trzaska. There s been a lot of good discussion here and in the community, and the executive team appreciates the willingness for people to join the conversation and move things forward.
Trustees voted 5-1 to approve the name and mission updates, with Chair Ron Oliver, Marvin Chance, John Engel, Sharon Hobble, and Dustin Ormiston in favor, and Rick Brenneman voting against.
In connection with the college s name change and mission focus, the board also voted on the pathway project designed to symbolize the connection between the central and northernmost sections of the SCCC campus. With assistance from SCCC drafting instructor Steve Merz and architectural drafting student Andy Ortiz, the college will begin construction of a sidewalk from the cosmetology building to the Industrial Technology division, with three additional sidewalk spurs connecting the Hale Court dormitories and the southeast block of Industrial Technology classrooms. The project includes four bench pads.
Trustees reviewed four bids for the concrete work, ranging from $77,800 to the selected low bid of $35,000 from Lezama Concrete of Liberal. The low bid passed with a 5-1 vote, again with Oliver, Chance, Engel, Hobble, and Ormiston in favor, and Brenneman opposed, not to the project but to the selected contractor.
Future phases of the project will include solar lighting, trees, and benches.
This physical evidence of connection is not just symbolic, it s a practical way to demonstrate the high value we attach to all the areas of our College, said Trzaska. I want to get it moving without delay, for the benefit of the students, and the team, and the community.
Bid specifications list May 1 as the completion date for the pathway project.

 

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