As the semester is drawing to a close, it seems that the theme at Pierce College this fall was “improvement.”
One way this is evident is in the expansive construction projects that were finished, or started, this semester.
Things began in September with the grand opening of the S. Mark Taper Foundation Botanical Garden, the only botanical garden in the district.
This beautiful addition to campus doubles as a botanical laboratory for students.
In October, Pierce broke ground on the new Center for the Sciences and the Student Services building, projects that are expected to be completed in late 2009.
The two buildings will total 158,775 square feet and cost more than $56 million.
Plans to extend and upgrade the Campus Mall were announced, too.
The project, which includes a statue of the Brahma Bull, a fountain, additional benches and new landscaping, will begin once building renovations are completed.
Also this semester, funds were approved to build a new Child Development Center, renovate our athletics facilities and add 17 temporary classrooms to the Village.
Construction of Lot 8, which will provide 700 new parking spaces to alleviate overcrowding in the parking lots, will begin this summer and take four to five months to complete.
Less visible, but equally important, is the massive work being done to Pierce’s infrastructure, including reworking roads and extending the water channel to prevent flooding.
Another improvement for Pierce, and quite an accomplishment at that, were the stellar performances by our many talented sports teams.
Women’s volleyball won their seventh straight Western State Conference title.
The football team had their best season in 14 years. And the women’s soccer team celebrated their third straight year as Southern Division Western State Conference champions.
All of these improvements comes as Pierce’s enrollment numbers reach a 25-year high, exceeding 20,000 students.
It seems like our school is constantly changing, expanding and improving; and with all this improvement occurring around us, next semester we hope to see continued progress in these areas and many more.
Natalie Yemenidjian ()