SALINE COUNTY: Emphasis on education

New college campus to boost Saline County, area

By Philip Seaton

Pulaski Technical College President Dan Bakke gives U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder a tour of the college’s new south campus on Friday. The college was holding a tour of the new facility, located at the former Expo Center on Interstate 30 near the Pulaski and Saline county lines, which is scheduled to be ready for the fall semester. David Huff

LITTLE ROCK — Technically it’s in Pulaski County, but the effects of the new college campus will be felt throughout the area for years to come.

Business and community leaders were on hand for a “hard hat” tour on Friday of the new Pulaski Technical College facility located just off Interstate 30 at the Saline and Pulaski county line.

The 159,00-square-foot building was formerly home to the Little Rock Expo Center and the Southwest Mall and will now be the South Campus of Pulaski Technical College and feature a transportation technology center as well as classroom space.

State Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, was among the dignitaries on handand said the new facility will do nothing but enhance the efforts of those attempting to bring new businesses and industry to the area.

“Just take the Pulaski County sign down and they’ll never know the difference,” he said jokingly about the close proximity of the campus to Saline County. “I have someone that is interested in the area coming in a couple of weeks, and he doesn’t know where the county line is. I can tell him with this two-year campus, as with the other schools already in Saline County, we have a college right here for your training needs. It’s a win-win type of deal.”

John Barnes, chairman of the board of trustees at Pulaski Tech, said that one of the goals of the campus is to provide more “qualified and well trained” employees, something Dan Bakke, president of the college, agreed with.

“We all know for Arkansas to grow we need to increase the per-capita income,” Bakke said. “The only way to do this is through education and training.”

The building is costing the college about $3 million with funds raised through tuition revenue and private fundraising.

“We already have $1.9 million toward that goal,” said Donnie Cook, chairman of the Pulaski Tech Foundation Board.

The new facility is expected to be complete in time for the fall semester and draw about 3,000 students, something that Broadway said should help the area around the building.

“It will improve this corridor,” he said. “With that much traffic on a daily basis, you’ll start to see restaurants and other things pop up on this side of town.”

Bryant Mayor Larry Mitchell was meeting with Federal Emergency Management Association officials on Friday in regards to storms from early April and could not make the“hard hat” tour, but was glad to see the old piece of property re-used. He said before the college purchased and began renovating the building, it was slowly becoming an eyesore along the interstate leading into his city.

“It was a nice piece of property that was not being fully utilized,” he said. “When I found out Pulaski Tech was going to convert it to a college, I was excited. Not only will students in Bryant benefit, but others in the county and area as well.”

Pulaski Tech has a career center in Bauxite and an adult education center in Benton, but outside of those options for technical training, Saline County students typically had to drive north into Little Rock or south to Ouachita Technical College in Malvern for training.

Mike Kolb, director of community development and business education at Ouachita Tech, was at the new Pulaski Tech campus Friday for a firsthand look at the new facility and said he didn’t expect his college to suffer because of the new facility.

“I don’t think it will affect us,” he said. “There is plenty to do for all of us. It is exciting times for two-year schools in the state.”

Tri-Lakes, Pages 59, 60 on 05/01/2008