Ivy Tech's Southern Indiana campus in Sellersburg details $20 million expansion

April 03, 2009 01:26 pm

— Ivy Tech Community College’s Southern Indiana campus in Sellersburg will get a new look — and a new building — when construction begins on the college’s campus expansion project in September.
The Indiana-Legislature funded $20 million construction and renovation project — scheduled for completion in January 2011 — will update the look and feel of the existing 96,000-square-foot building and add a 78,500-square-foot facility to the campus, along with a dramatic increase in green space.
Rapid increases in enrollment and the addition of new programs has led to space concerns and is the driving force behind the need for the expansion project, Chancellor Rita Hudson Shourds said.
“It has just grown worse and worse through the years,” Hudson Shourds said. “I have a strong desire that any student who comes through our doors has a first-class educational experience, and I did not want that complicated … because our facilities weren’t adequate enough. So, it became apparent very quickly that we needed a new building.”
Since 1989, enrollment at the Sellersburg campus has increased 200 percent. There are about 4,600 students enrolled there, which is a 50 percent increase from four years ago.
The addition of transfer degree and course options, expanded general education and liberal-arts offerings have driven growth, and moving to a more traditional college feel is one of the aims of the expansion project, Hudson Shourds said.
“I think if you were to ask people that pass by our current facilities, unfortunately we look something like a strip center,” she said. “There’s not a lot of inviting architecture. What we wanted to do was create a campus that shows our passion for education.”
The project will add more than 1,000 classroom seats for students, a 200-seat auditorium, a community center, a mock courtroom and approximately 1,000 square feet to the main building’s 4,000-square-foot Ogle Virtual Library for additional study and archive space.
“One of the issues that we have with the expanded enrollment is just having gathering points, because so much of our space is dedicated to classrooms and labs,” said Terry Nolot, vice chancellor for enrollment services.
The addition of gathering areas for students — along with an aesthetic that features red brick, stone and natural light — will help give the campus a more traditional college feel, Nolot said.
“The goal is to create a component of green space and instructional space for students, so they can enjoy their college experience and have activities on campus,” he said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that two years from now — this day fast-forwarded — you’re going to see people outside throwing Frisbees, you’re going to see people sitting on blankets eating their lunch, reading their books,” Hudson Shourds said. “We’re going to see classes that are held outside because the environment is so conducive to that.”
The new community center could be used for speaking engagements, debates and club activities, while the new auditorium could be used for student-produced performances, such as plays, Hudson Shourds said.
In addition to student comfort, the upgrade also will impact the quality of instruction space, Nolot said. Science labs, nursing labs and general classrooms will all see makeovers through the project.
Ivy Tech is pursuing a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification for its new building, Ivy Hall. The goal is to create a green building that is energy efficient and sustainable.
“We want to be community leaders in that area,” Hudson Shourds said. “Our students expect that of us. Our students are forever challenging us to find ways to recycle and be better users of the environment, and this is what we think we can do to give back to the community.”
With the expansion, Ivy Tech is eyeing new programs such as paramedic science, fine arts and interior design, Hudson Shourds said.
“I would offer Ivy Tech’s gratitude to the community,” she said. “The community spoke loudly and said this is a very deserving campus, a campus that needs space. It’s our campus, but it is truly the community’s campus.”

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
• To learn more about Ivy Tech Community College’s expansion plans for its Southern Indiana campus, visit www.ivytech.edu/sellersburg. Visitors can read more about the project, see architectural renderings and view an animated fly around of the new campus concept.

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