SMCC Guadalupe Center Prepares for Expansion
For years, the Town of Guadalupe has referred to itself as a place in which three cultures flourish…and providing higher education for those three cultures has been the role of the South Mountain Community College Guadalupe Center.
Those who comprise the three cultures---members of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, those of Latin-American roots and descendants of Western Europeans who arrived in this region more recently---have combined to make the Guadalupe community a distinct demographic region in the Valley of the Sun.
Serving the higher education needs of this diverse population has been the focus of South Mountain Community College since 1989, when it established its first temporary classroom spaces in the Guadalupe community.
Positive response from the residents and town leaders, coupled with a steadily increasing student enrollment, led to the creation of a permanent building for the Guadalupe Center, part of a new Town of Guadalupe Multi-Purpose Center constructed in 2000.
The project, which included 45,000 square feet of space for a variety of municipal offices and facilities, as well as the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley, was hailed by residents as “a wish fulfilled.”
But throughout the early years of the new century, student enrollment continued to grow, and with the passage of the 2004 Maricopa County Community College District bond initiative, the existing Guadalupe Center was designated for expansion.
In 2007, ground was broken for the next phase of the Guadalupe Center, a 5,000 square foot expansion and remodel of its existing space, designed by the firm of Fucello Architects.
A grand opening planned for Saturday, May 31, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
As the center enters its 20th year of service to the community, this will indeed be a milestone.
“With such a significant addition of new space and renovation of our existing classrooms, we will have what is essentially a whole new campus,” states Director Raúl S. Monreal, Jr., who has overseen Guadalupe operations since 1998.
Monreal is justifiably proud of the level of service the campus has historically provided, as well as the achievements of the many students who have passed through its doors.
“We started very small, but even then, our faculty and staff always did an exceptional job of providing students with quality college programs and courses,” says Monreal. “Serving our students has always been our top priority, and our expanded facility will enable us to help even more students to reach their personal and professional best.”
In addition to providing hundreds of college class offerings each year, the SMCC Guadalupe Center serves its students with a full range of support and resources, including advisement, financial aid, counseling, tutoring and career placement. In fact, students may now even fully complete an Associate Degree in several disciplines fully within the physical bounds of the Guadalupe Center.
And learning is not limited to the classroom, adds Monreal, who has formed partnerships with many of the Fortune 1000 companies located in close proximity to the campus. “We strive to create opportunities in and out of the classroom for students, faculty and staff, to work and learn together,” he says.
The SMCC Guadalupe Center is located at 9233 S. Avenida del Yaqui (Priest Drive), just south of Guadalupe Road.
To contact the Guadalupe Center, call 602.243.8217. For additional information about the Guadalupe Center and current program offerings, visit http://guadalupe.southmountaincc.edu.
South Mountain Community College is one of the ten colleges that comprise the Maricopa County Community College District.