College Vision Now in Focus

Southwestern Community College’s vision for the future made incredible advancements during 2024, with assistance from the college’s updated 10-year master facilities plan, put in place to drive future renovation and construction plans at the college.

“The master facilities plan will be a guiding document for the college as we move forward and make advancements with facilities,” said Lindsay Stoaks, college president. “The plan was just completed last spring and already we are starting to see projects coming to fruition based on the results of this comprehensive plan.”

During the master facilities planning process, INVISION Architecture of Des Moines spent a great deal of time on campus interviewing employees, surveying students and employees, and collecting information from the college’s current strategic plan, career and technical education program evaluations, and previous master facilities plans. In addition to the work of INVISION, the process was led by a cross-sectional steering committee made up of 14 employees from departments college-wide.

When the plan was explained to the college’s board of directors in February 2024, the top 10 emerging themes were announced. The top five themes included the following:

• First impressions
• Improved parking lot with green space
• Improved campus security
• Improved athletic facilities
• Dedicated student-centered spaces.

College administrators took these themes and worked to identify the top priority projects for the next 10 years. In conjunction with the college’s recently completed master facilities plan and in alignment with the college’s five-year facilities plan, administration recently identified the following as top priority projects:

• Design & construct a Transportation Training Center at the college’s ag site (see pullout article at right).
• Develop designs & cost estimates for the construction of a skilled trades center (detailed description later in this article)
• Assess athletic facility needs and develop designs and cost estimates to make improvements.
• Address immediate needs as required, including:
  • physical infrastructure,
  • security – access control system and lighting improvements,
  • and first impressions – new exterior signage, updated landscaping, and parking lot improvements.

During the January 2025 board of directors regular meeting, college administrators honed down further, explaining specific priorities on deck for 2025:

Instructional Center–room 180 HVAC system−Last fall, Shive-Hattery conducted a feasibility study to determine the best course of action to replace 14 end-of-life fan coil units, as well as to design and construct an access platform for safely servicing these units in the ceiling above room 180. Although there are long-term options to improve the air handling within the building, Shive-Hattery recommended the college first engage in the base scope to replace the existing air handling units.

Skilled trades facility−This is a two-fold project consisting of the construction of a new 14,500 square foot facility to provide additional classroom and lab space for the carpentry and building trades, electrical technology, and emergency management services (EMS) programs. The building would be constructed on the east end of campus, near Technical Center I and Technical Center II. The second phase of the project is to renovate 9,500 square feet of space in Technical Center I to establish a welding technology career academy and magnesium welding program, as well as to provide additional classroom space for future programs.

If the college’s application for a $1 million Career Academy Incentive Fund grant through the Iowa Department of Education is approved, administration recommends moving forward with the construction of the skilled trades facility. If the college is not awarded the Career Academy Incentive Fund grant, administration recommends moving forward with the project outlined below.

Main Entrance/Parking Lot Improvement Project−Reconstructing the college main entrance including a boulevard tied to the main parking lot; relocating the loop drive to the east side of the Instructional Center, offering better access for drop-off and pick-up, service deliveries, and handicap parking; and a pedestrian sidewalk giving direct access from the residence halls to the Administration Center.

These priorities have been explained to the board of directors and college employees. The board agenda may include proposals to initiate the Instructional Center improvements as early as the March 2025 meeting.

“Our hope is that all constituents in Southwestern’s region will feel the benefits of these improvements during the coming years,” Stoaks stated. “The master facilities plan was truly developed with the needs of our constituents and the vibrance of the college and our region in mind.”