Genesee Community College celebrates construction of the Medina Campus Center

Officials present at the site of the new campus center (l-r) are: Clayton G. Ehrenreich, III, mayor, Village of Medina; Rev. Kenneth Dodd, Melvin Wentland, Laurie Miller, Anne Garlock and Charles Ruffino, Trustees, Genesee Community College and Stuart Steiner, president, Genesee Community College. Provided photo.

Genesee Community College celebrates construction of the Medina Campus Center

Continuing its commitment to increase access to educational opportunities throughout its four-county service area and citing the growth of enrollment at the Albion Campus Center, officials from Genesee Community College began the construction of the second Orleans County Campus Center in Medina. Officials from the college and from the community gathered at the Medina construction site at 11470 Maple Ridge Road (Route 31A) on Wednesday, May 16.

Among the attendees of the Medina Campus Center construction celebration were: representatives from Five Star Bank, Orleans County developer James F. Herring of Herring Enterprises, LLC, who is building and leasing the property to Genesee Community College; members of Genesee Community College's Board of Trustees; and various college officials including President Stuart Steiner; Larene Hoelcle, vice president of human resources and planning; Jerry Kozlowski, dean of the Campus Centers and The BEST Center; James Simon, the newly appointed associate dean of the Medina Campus Center; as well as civic, political and business leaders from Medina and the surrounding area.

When completed late this summer, the Medina Campus Center will be a 9,000 square foot facility featuring two modern computer labs and a state-of-the-art science lab - the first campus center to provide a fully-equipped, modern science laboratory. There will also be five to seven classrooms, a lobby and reception area, as well as faculty, staff, advisor and administrative offices.

The new Medina Campus Center advances one of Genesee Community College's priorities, expanding access to educational services for residents of the GLOW (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming) counties. With main campus in Batavia (Genesee County), the addition of the Medina Campus center gives residents in each of the other three counties outside Genesee County two service locations for educational opportunity.

The Medina Area Scholarship Trust Fund is another example of the college's dedication to expanding educational access and has been initially financed by Takeform Architectural Graphics of Medina. The fund was established to provide financial assistance for tuition, books, fees and other educational expenses to local students attending Genesee Community College for credit-bearing courses.

James Simon, a resident of Medina, was appointed as the associate dean of the Medina Campus Center. Simon formerly taught history at Genesee Community College.

Residents and potential students do not need to wait until the fall to register for classes at the Medina Campus Center. Students can register for summer and fall classes for any of Genesee's seven campus locations at the Albion Campus Center. The first summer session starts on May 29. Students can also register online www.genesee.edu.