For immediate release — Jan. 30, 2008

(DALLAS/PLEASANT GROVE) — When the dirt flies in February, signaling the construction of a satellite campus for Eastfield College in the Pleasant Grove community, the enthusiastic support of residents, businesses and area officials finally will be rewarded. The Eastfield College Pleasant Grove Campus at 802 S. Buckner Blvd. in Dallas represents access to higher education where it hasn’t been before — in the neighborhood, close to home.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility will be held on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m.; a reception will follow the ceremony. Representatives from the city of Dallas, Southeast Dallas Chamber of Commerce and neighboring chambers, the Dallas Independent School District and area school districts, along with local organizations and churches, have been invited to attend.

The new location is one of five community education campuses under construction designed to provide access to higher education for either underserved or fast-growing populations in Dallas County. The Dallas County Community College District’s current $450 million bond program, approved by voters in May 2004, provides the funding for each of the new satellite campuses located in Pleasant Grove, Garland, south Irving, west Dallas and Coppell.

“We are excited and pleased to break ground for the Eastfield College Pleasant Grove Campus,” said Dr. Wright Lassiter, DCCCD’s chancellor. “DCCCD and Eastfield want to be an integral part of this community and to promote education. We look forward to the day when this new facility opens and classes begin.”

Dr. Carol Brown, EFC president, added, “Students can begin their college education at our Pleasant Grove campus, enroll in academic and continuing education classes, and then transfer those courses to Eastfield or any other college in our district so that they can earn an associate degree or a professional certificate. Eastfield College will administer the Pleasant Grove campus, and we are honored to welcome those students — and the people who live in this community — to the Eastfield College family.”

The new Pleasant Grove building, estimated to cost $10 million, should be completed by April 2009; it will house programs in continuing education, workforce development, English as a second language (ESL) and GED preparation. The new satellite campus will feature new classrooms, computer labs, student counseling and testing services, financial aid offices, staff office and support spaces, and other functions needed to support those programs. 

Brown added, “Our new Pleasant Grove location represents a partnership with the community and is a place where students can come to begin their college careers and build a better future.”

The campus also will offer general courses in areas like computer science (introductory), English, speech, mathematics and history; human development and developmental education classes; medical assisting through continuing education; selected pre-nursing classes; and courses in workforce preparation, skills upgrades, interview techniques and soft skills (such as attitude, responsibility, customer service and commitment).

EFC will continue to survey the community and, using input from residents and area businesses, will offer courses that meet their needs. The college also will work with area high school juniors and seniors to interest them in and ask for their suggestions about dual credit courses that they would like to take.

For more information, contact the Eastfield College Office of the President at (972) 860-7001 or the Office of Marketing and Communications at (972) 860-7002.

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Press contacts:
Amy McDonald
972-860-7180; amcdonald@dcccd.edu
or
Ann Hatch
214-860-2478; ahatch@dcccd.edu
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