By Laura Canida

The DeJardin Hall Expansion Open House was deemed a success by students, faculty and community members. After a presentation that lasted approximately 45 minutes, a small group of student musicians serenaded attendees as they strolled through the building admiring all the new features.

Jennifer Pope, a lab technician who has has worked at the college for nine years, shared some of her favorite things about the new building. “I do all the lab prep work, so I love the prep spaces.  They are very modern, very coordinated.  Over in the old Pauling, we had closets here and there and a little small prep areas, so you were constantly running around all day trying to figure out where you put this thing or that.  I do love the new prep spaces we have.  I also like that it feels like a science building.”

Some of the new safety features are extra gas shut-offs, and eyewashes at each station. “There are sensors for if there are too many (VOCs) Volatile Organic Compounds.  There are so many more things that we didn’t have before that are great in terms of safety,” said Pope.

Mike Farrell, an engineering instructor at DeJardin said,

“I like it!  Definitely much more open and inviting. It’s really nice.”

According to Lori Hall, public informations officer for Clackamas Community College, “The grand opening event was great. It was well attended by the college community and the community at large. Rep. Mark Meek and Rep. Christine Drazan were in attendance along with some other local elected officials. Up next, we will break ground on our new student services center this spring with completion slated for fall 2021. This will be the last of our bond projects, which voters approved in 2014.”

You can find more information about the bond projects at www.clackamas.edu/bondinformation.