MCCC seeks community input on future of Whitman Center
TEMPERANCE — Monroe County Community College seeks public input on a "reinvigoration" of the Whitman Center, the college's second campus. Community Conversations will take place at 4:30 p.m. March 18 and April 10 at the Whitman Center, 7777 Lewis Ave. in Temperance.
MCCC leadership will listen to ideas and suggestions from the public.
The 10-acre piece of property for the Whitman Center was donated to MCCC by Whitman Ford and then-owner Paul Whitman. MCCC built the $2.2M facility on the property, according to Monroe News archives. Whitman Ford was a longtime Temperance Ford dealership that closed in 2011.
MCCC's Monroe campus opened in 1964. MCCC's Whitman Center opened in September of 1991 and offered 10 classroom spaces, a Business Learning Lab, a computer classroom, a multipurpose lab, a student lounge and administrative offices, according to MCCC's website.
In 1995, according to Monroe News archives, enrollment was booming at the Whitman Center.
"We knew the Whitman Center would be a success, but we didn't know it would be that much of a success,” former MCCC President Gerald Welch said.
The Whitman Center's 20th anniversary was celebrated in 2011. By then, according to Monroe News archives, it had educated thousands. Enrollment that winter was 1,053 students attending 86 classes.
“The Whitman Center has long served as an important asset in south Monroe County; however, much has changed since its doors opened in 1991,” MCCC said in a news release. “Student preferences have shifted. Students who once would have filled credit classes at the Whitman Center now increasingly choose online sections. What was once a vibrant and bustling facility for higher learning in recent years has had a steady decline in usage.”
Dr. Kojo Quartey, MCCC president, encourages all to attend the Community Conversations.
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“We encourage the participation of the community in helping us make important decisions about the Whitman Center,” Quartey said. “The center was established decades ago to serve as a resource for the residents of the southern-most communities in Monroe County. We want to ensure that the Whitman Center serves the needs of the community going forward. As the college enters into the planning stages for reinvigorating the Whitman Center, now is the most opportune time for community input and offering ideas and suggestions. No one understands the needs of this community better than its residents and businesses.”
For questions or more information, call 734-384-4214.
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: MCCC seeks community input on future of Whitman Center
