College of the Sequoias held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new University Center on April 23 on the northernmost part of its expanded Visalia Campus.
Construction on the new University Center is underway at the corner of Mooney Boulevard and Tulare Avenue.
The facility will bring affordable four-year degree opportunities to students in the South Valley, reducing the need for students to move or commute long distances to complete their education. It is expected to be ready for the fall 2028 semester.
Tulare County is the second largest county in California without a public four-year university and as a result, only 23.2% of those 25 and older in the county have a bachelor’s degree, according to the most recent census.
The University Center is expected to improve those statistics by allowing COS to expand its partnerships with four-year universities, enabling students to complete bachelor’s and potentially master’s degrees locally.
“It’s not enough for students to get a two-year degree with us or Porterville or West Hills or Reedley,” COS Superintendent Brent Calvin said. “Almost half of our graduates weren’t pursuing a four-year university degree. If you dig a little bit deeper, you found out it was because of the commutes and/or the high price tag of setting up an apartment in another city. That was really the genesis of this University Center – keep our students closer to home and cut down on the brain drain.”
Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval attended the groundbreaking ceremony in support of the project.
“At Fresno State, when we graduate a student, 80% stay in the region, and I’m sure the same thing will happen here,” Jiménez-Sandoval said. “When you graduate these professionals, they will stay here intentionally because they will be here with their friends, with their families, with their neighbors to build up this community together.”
He went on to say that the facility is a “beautiful” example of a higher education ecosystem that builds the local economy.
“The more graduates we have, the stronger the economy becomes,” he said. “A degree is not a degree that is just out in the ether. A degree is a degree because it charges the individual to become a civic, social, and economic leader for your community specifically.
Since 2017, more than 3,700 students have benefited from the partnership between COS and Fresno State, Jiménez-Sandoval added.
“For a century, College of the Sequoias has opened doors for generations of students, students who were first in their families to attend college, students who balanced work, family, and dreams, students who came here seeking a chance and left prepared to shape our communities,” COS Board President Raymond Macareno said. “One hundred years ago, the college began with a simple but powerful mission: provide access, create opportunity, change lives.
“That mission has not changed, but today, we expand it,” he said. “This groundbreaking represents the next chapter of our story. The community-supported-and-funded University Center will allow students to begin here and finish here.”
The University Center is funded by Measure C, which was approved by voters in 2022 to support new educational facilities.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: New University Center to expand local access to four-year degrees
Reporting by Steve Pastis, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
