Sinclair Board Engages National Experts to Design Better Campus for Students

Students will someday benefit from a Dayton campus that is more accessible and easier to navigate thanks to a decision November 15 from the Sinclair Community College Board of Trustees.  At their regular meeting on November 15, the Board voted to authorize $2.4 million in funds to engage national experts in architecture and improvements to the physical plant of the college campus. The funds allocated are not for construction and are architectural and engineering services only. The goal of the Master Plan is to make Sinclair’s campus easier to navigate and to more easily connect the tens of thousands of students a year who take courses at the Dayton campus to the amenities of Downtown Dayton.

Among the design projects to be directly engaged in the coming months are a new student services center, making the college more pedestrian friendly, a new entry gateway to the college, and a continued focus on increasing student parking.

 “An investment in our campus is an investment in our student experience,” Sinclair President Steve Johnson said. “Enhancing our 80 acre downtown campus is a critically important investment. Our students and our prospective students will benefit from a campus that is easier to navigate and our community will benefit from a strengthened connection to a downtown that is growing ever more revitalized all the time. I’m excited to move forward with the next step in these important projects.”

The funding that Sinclair is approving will be used to engage architectural experts in a competitive process. Sinclair has set a goal that the projects will be completed in 36 months, an aggressive timetable that would allow students to benefit as soon as possible. In order to achieve this outcome, the college will need external assistance to refine concept plans, develop design documents, and cost estimates for construction.

 Also on the board agenda, the Sinclair Trustees approved an additional $500,000 in student scholarships over last year’s scholarship budget, approved a health care plan for college employees, and also provided a $250,000 textbook scholarship for College Credit Plus scholarships.