SPC Regents ponder expanding Plainview campus
by Jacob Tucker, associate editor
State enrollment, the Plainview
Center, and the 50th anniversary of South Plains
College were among the topics of discussion at the October
meeting of the SPC Board of Regents.
Darrell Grimes, vice president for
academic affairs, presented an update on the progress of the
Plainview Center in his report. He informed the Board about
all the classes being offered on the campus, and that
enrollment has nearly doubled from last fall.
“I had anticipated that SPC would have
a lot to offer the Plainview community,” said Dr. Kelvin
Sharp, president of SPC. “There were many people there not
receiving the education that they deserved, and now they
are.”
More than half of those enrolled this
semester on the Plainview campus are first-year students,
and 73 percent of those who are enrolled are female. The
Plainview campus has a higher average-age attendance, which
is 26, than the main campus, which is 21. This means that
there are a few more non-traditional students attending that
campus rather than attending the Levelland campus.
The growth at the Plainview Center has
maxed out the room that was available for classes.
“The Plainview Center could grow even
more if we were to renovate and expand the building,” said
Grimes.
That is exactly what the Board plans to
do. There is an estimated 20,000 square feet of free space
available for renovation, according to Dr. Sharp.
“The initial plan of renovation was to
only do about 13,500 square feet,” said Dr. Sharp. “But the
Board would like to see if the architects could make plans
for the remaining space in the building.”
The current plans will add two science
labs to help accommodate the growing nursing program, a
computer lab, three general classrooms, a study hall for
students to relax in, and six additional offices for faculty
and staff at the Center.
“We weren’t sure how far to build in
the beginning,” said Sharp. “But now we can use the rest of
the building.”
David Jones, vice president for student
affairs, presented to the Board the enrollments of the 50
community colleges in Texas. SPC was ranked 17th
on this list.
“The list is comprised by the Texas
Association of Community Colleges,” said Jones. “This
listing says that SPC is providing the open door for
everyone to access education in rural West Texas.”
The top 10 community colleges on the
list have 18,000 to 60,000 students on their campuses, but,
according to Jones, there is a very simple explanation for
this. He believes that due to their locations, they will be
more populous than those here in West Texas.
As far as SPC advancing in the ranks,
there is a chance.
“Amarillo College, Tyler Community
College, and SPC vary every year,” said Jones. “They have a
large community base, and their towns are growing. But SPC
is the largest rural-based community college in West Texas.”
During Dr. Sharp’s report to the Board,
he recounted the meeting with the other presidents on Oct.
2. He also explained all of the hard work the college has
done to gain more recognition for community colleges in the
Texas Legislature.
“The state funds all colleges and
universities in Texas,” said Dr. Sharp. “Every year we
aren’t for sure of the funding that we receive.”
Dr. Sharp described the funding process
as a ‘three-legged chair.’
“One leg is state appropriations, one
is local taxes, and the other is tuition and fees,” said Dr.
Sharp.
He explained that if one of these is
offset, or lower than the other, one of the other legs has
to compensate for the missing money. The leg that seems to
get shorter and shorter is the state appropriations leg.
“I would love to have another year
where we did not have to raise tuition,” said Dr. Sharp.
“But in order for that to happen, we need to gain the
support of the legislators in Austin, and make them believe
in the importance of community colleges.”
Dr. Sharp has set a personal goal for
himself and the college. He wants to meet with every
legislator before the session begins in January. That is
also a pretty high goal, since this is an election year.
“I have talked to the representative of
our district, and the representatives of Lubbock and
Plainview,” said Sharp. “Even though our main campus is in
Levelland, I feel that I have an obligation to talk to those
other representatives.”
Sharp also mentioned the formation of a
steering committee for next year’s celebration of the
college’s 50th anniversary.
“The committee consists of eight
people,” said Dr. Sharp. “Those people are Judy Bryant, Joe
Tubb, Jon Johnson, Cary Banks, Kay Gilmer, Roland Moriera,
Stephen John, and Dane Dewbre.”
This committee will look at different
activities to help celebrate the occasion. The celebration
will begin next fall and last throughout the school year.
According to Dr. Sharp, these first sessions have simply
been brainstorming sessions. They have looked at the
possibility of a special logo and many other designs.
“We want to share with our students and
the community the success of SPC throughout the years,” said
Dr. Sharp.
In other action, the Board reviewed the
current tax report and was presented with the results of the
Career Expo, which was held in Lubbock on Oct. 11, by Dr.
Dick Walsh, the college’s provost.
