Allan Hancock College officials and community backers broke ground July 17 on the Santa Maria campus’ new $24.7 million Industrial Technology Complex.
According to college officials, come spring 2014, there will be more than 35,000 square feet of brand new labs, classrooms, and offices available to students and staffers in the industrial technology department, bringing members of each discipline under the same roof.
“As many of you know, industrial technology and the other career technical education programs we offer are an integral part of the success of Hancock and its students,” Interim Superintendent/President Elizabeth Miller said at the groundbreaking on July 17. “We have a long history of hands-on training. This campus—and a few of the buildings you still see here—were once the Hancock College of Aeronautics in the ’30s and ’40s. They trained pilots and Santa Maria Junior College (now Allan Hancock College) trained airplane mechanics.
“We’ve come a long way since then. But the reality is, some of our facilities still need to catch up,” Miller continued. “With the passage of Measure I in 2006, Allan Hancock College was given an incredible opportunity to move our teaching and learning facilities into the 21st century.”
According to information in a press release, two new industrial technology buildings will be constructed where the running track is now, directly south of the existing building. A synthetic track, as well as baseball and soccer fields, will be rebuilt in other locations, with the baseball field moving across College Drive.
The new complex will provide state-of-the-art lab and classroom spaces for the college’s industrial technology disciplines: architectural drafting, electronics, and viticulture/enology, as well as automotive, auto body, engineering, welding, and machining and manufacturing technologies.
Some of the new features include heated paint booths for auto body technology; a welding lab; and a climate-controlled enology lab and cold storage.
School Scene is compiled by Managing Editor Amy Asman. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2012.