Brookhaven Courier

Issue date: 3/8/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Charlie Mills Continuing education student Christian Goudy solders a piece of jewelry together during her jewelry-making class in the new W Building.

The completion of the Workforce and Continuing Education W Building at Brookhaven College marks the last of the building projects the campus will receive from the $450 million bond project approved by Dallas County voters in 2004.

The new building opened Jan. 11 and ended the need for the $300,000 annual lease for the Brookhaven East Campus at Midway and Alpha roads.

For the past 10 years, most of the Workforce and Continuing Education classes were held off campus.

Vernon Hawkins, associate vice president of Workforce and Continuing Education, said before the East Campus, Brookhaven's North Campus off Frankford Road housed the workforce division for five years. After leasing the East Campus, the North Campus closed. The East Campus, used for eight years, closed Dec. 15.

The lease for the East Campus ended Dec. 31. Other off-campus satellite locations, such as R. L. Turner High School and Thomas Jefferson High School, will still be used for night classes.

W Building is located on the east part of the campus next to the tennis courts. The 2,500-square-foot building stands two stories tall with a 40-foot nameplate stretching across the brick exterior facing Alpha Road.

Construction started in November 2008 and was completed in January of this year. Staff began moving into the building mid-January and classes have already started there. Hawkins said the building will be used by about 10,000 students each year.

One of the features of the building will be 50-inch TVs on each side of the whiteboards in the classrooms. They will be used instead of pull-down projector screens. The classrooms are relatively small; most seat about 25. There are also movable partitions in some rooms.

The Workforce and Continuing Education Division handles all classes that are non-credit, including languages, computer information technology, jewelry making, ceramics, English for Speakers of other Languages and many others.

The division also offers certification programs, which include Alternative Certification for Teachers and Professional Truck Driving Training. Businesses can also team with the Workforce and Continuing Education Division at Brookhaven to train employees.

Continued...

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