More than 100 people gathered inside the new Genesee Community College campus center Monday to catch a glimpse of its new downtown facility. The decade-old satellite campus moved out of its crowded state Route 63 center entirely, and into the spacious former Dansville Middle School at the end of June, just in time for summer classes to begin.
Attendees for the Monday open house gathered inside Clara’s Commons, formerly the school’s library, for refreshments, live music and opening remarks.
“What we have now is a facility that is just rock solid, and we have a facility that this GCC campus can build on,” Livingston County Clerk Jim Culbertson, emcee for the event, said.
GCC president James Sunser also gave opening remarks. “We found ourselves, through the great effort of [assistant dean] Pete Soscia and his team to be short on space, which is a great problem for any president to have,” he said, adding that the ongoing partnership with the Dansville school district has been a perfect example of a seamless educational pipeline, and the expanded facility can help further that concept.
“I think the opportunities are limitless,” Sunser said. “And with the great partners we have in Dansville, I think it’s going to be terrific.”
Dansville school board president Mary Ann Holden spoke about the difficult decision the board made last year in closing her alma mater due to budget cuts, but quickly commended GCC for its almost instantaneous vision for the facility.
Attendees heard next from Amy Thomas, a Human Services student, and what the college has done for her. She is about to start her last semester at GCC, and throughout the years has attended all three campuses in Dansville — from night classes in the high school, to its Route 63 campus, and returned as a student to finish her degree in the new downtown facility.
“I have learned so many things about myself this past year,” she said. “Most importantly that I’m strong enough and that I can do anything that I set my mind to.”
Tours followed, which highlighted not only the college’s expanse with classrooms, but also administrative offices, the gymnasium, cafeteria, up-to-date and spacious science labs — the envy of some other SUNY institutions, Soscia said; large and more conducive art and music rooms, a community-shared auditorium, plus new and state-of-the-art interactive audio-visual technology in the classrooms, plus a virtual classroom or video conferencing system for long-distance learning. Soscia also highlighted a computer lab, which is a virtual library that is connected to every database in the SUNY system.
The college is making use of at least half the former middle school at this time. The third floor and original portions of the building, with the exception of the art studio and theater, are not being used.
More than 300 students will be entering GCC’s Dansville satellite campus on Monday to start the fall semester. Dansville has had the largest enrollment of its six satellite campuses; and now, with the new facility, also is its largest in physical size.
A portion of the former middle school is also being used by KidStart Headstart.
More than 100 people gathered inside the new Genesee Community College campus center Monday to catch a glimpse of its new downtown facility. The decade-old satellite campus moved out of its crowded state Route 63 center entirely, and into the spacious former Dansville Middle School at the end of June, just in time for summer classes to begin.
Attendees for the Monday open house gathered inside Clara’s Commons, formerly the school’s library, for refreshments, live music and opening remarks.
“What we have now is a facility that is just rock solid, and we have a facility that this GCC campus can build on,” Livingston County Clerk Jim Culbertson, emcee for the event, said.
GCC president James Sunser also gave opening remarks. “We found ourselves, through the great effort of [assistant dean] Pete Soscia and his team to be short on space, which is a great problem for any president to have,” he said, adding that the ongoing partnership with the Dansville school district has been a perfect example of a seamless educational pipeline, and the expanded facility can help further that concept.
“I think the opportunities are limitless,” Sunser said. “And with the great partners we have in Dansville, I think it’s going to be terrific.”
Dansville school board president Mary Ann Holden spoke about the difficult decision the board made last year in closing her alma mater due to budget cuts, but quickly commended GCC for its almost instantaneous vision for the facility.
Attendees heard next from Amy Thomas, a Human Services student, and what the college has done for her. She is about to start her last semester at GCC, and throughout the years has attended all three campuses in Dansville — from night classes in the high school, to its Route 63 campus, and returned as a student to finish her degree in the new downtown facility.
“I have learned so many things about myself this past year,” she said. “Most importantly that I’m strong enough and that I can do anything that I set my mind to.”
Tours followed, which highlighted not only the college’s expanse with classrooms, but also administrative offices, the gymnasium, cafeteria, up-to-date and spacious science labs — the envy of some other SUNY institutions, Soscia said; large and more conducive art and music rooms, a community-shared auditorium, plus new and state-of-the-art interactive audio-visual technology in the classrooms, plus a virtual classroom or video conferencing system for long-distance learning. Soscia also highlighted a computer lab, which is a virtual library that is connected to every database in the SUNY system.
The college is making use of at least half the former middle school at this time. The third floor and original portions of the building, with the exception of the art studio and theater, are not being used.
More than 300 students will be entering GCC’s Dansville satellite campus on Monday to start the fall semester. Dansville has had the largest enrollment of its six satellite campuses; and now, with the new facility, also is its largest in physical size.
A portion of the former middle school is also being used by KidStart Headstart.
