Photo by Jonathan Villagomez

Photo by Jonathan Villagomez

Story by Laura Canida

In June of 2018, Clackamas Community College celebrated the groundbreaking of the DeJardin Hall expansion project ­— it’s now time to celebrate the opening of the new-and-improved DeJardin Hall after several years in the making.

According to the CCC website, the expansion is the third of four building projects planned by CCC under a $90 million bond measure passed by CCC district voters in 2014.

Current CCC students are going to be the first to enjoy the new facilities and all its new amenities, which include new state-of-the-art science labs for chemistry, biology, microbiology and anatomy classes. The DeJardin Hall expansion includes 21,000 more square feet and an additional 18,600 square feet to the original building. The project also doubled the chemistry lab capacity, which will accommodate an additional 250 chemistry students a year.

Hanging from the ceiling in the commons is a full-size replica Beluga whale skeleton and a blown-up molecular DNA sculpture. Along the walls you will find display cases full of different preserved species, natural artifact collections and many other treasures for students to study and observe.

If you would like to explore the newest addition to the CCC campus, the grand opening is slated for Friday, October 11 at 4 p.m. Aside from student-led tours of the facility, there will be a short program followed by refreshments.

DeJardin Hall is located at 19600 Molalla Ave. on the Oregon City campus next to Roger Rook Hall.