Tom Dowling
(863) 297-1051

PCC TO OPEN FACILITY IN SOUTHWEST LAKELAND; IT WILL HOUSE CORPORATE COLLEGE
AND THREE HEALTH PROGRAMS

07/26/2007: Polk Community College will establish a center in southwest Lakeland, which will house offices, classrooms and labs used by PCC’s Corporate College and three Allied Health programs. The new 25,000 square foot facility is located in the Lakeland Airside Center, off of Pipkin Road, just a short distance from the Polk Parkway.

PCC has signed a long term lease with the City of Lakeland, which will enable the College to begin offering classes at the Airside Center as early as this fall with full operation by the spring. “We are very excited to be expanding into this growing area of Lakeland. This new site will enable PCC to provide a higher level of service for citizens of all of southwest Polk County,” said PCC President Eileen Holden.

Dr. Holden noted that the facility is well suited to the needs of PCC since it previously housed an educational institution. “I appreciate the cooperation of the City of Lakeland officials and PCC staff who worked diligently to finalize this agreement. This center is part of PCC’s goal to expand college offerings to all regions of Polk County. The Airside Center will help PCC meet the needs of business and health care partners in a way that will be second to none in the county,” she said.

The Airside Center will be the intermediate  home of  PCC’s Corporate College while plans are being developed for the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center that will be housed at the Clear Springs Research Park in Bartow. The Corporate College offers a wide range of educational and business outreach programs, including the newly established Supply Chain Management Institute.

“The classroom and meeting facilities at the PCC Airside Center campus will enable us to take the PCC Corporate College to the next level,” said Rob Clancey, director of Corporate College. He noted that with the new site being a short distance from the Polk Parkway makes it easy to reach for students and members of the business community.

In addition to the PCC Corporate College, the PCC Airside Center campus will house three Allied Health programs:

·        Diagnostic Medical Sonography,

·        Cardio Vascular Technology and

·        Radiography.

These programs train students for high paying jobs in the healthcare field. An estimated 150 students are annually expected to enroll in these programs.

“We’re very excited with the benefits this new facility offers for the Allied Health division,” said Steve Hull, PCC’s Lakeland provost. “For starters, it will enable us to begin offering two new programs – Cardio Vascular Technology and Diagnostic Medical Sonography– starting this fall. These will complement our already strong Radiography program.”

In addition to offering expanded classroom space for the medical programs, Hull said the Airside Center also will provide a lab where students can gain hands-on experience with modern medical instrumentation that will be shared by the three programs.

“Our program directors, clinical coordinators and the adjunct professors from area hospitals and clinics, who serve as faculty for our healthcare programs, are very excited with this new facility because it will give them the opportunity to acquaint students with the latest diagnostic equipment in their fields of study,” Hull concluded.