SCC gains approval for Vacaville campus

By Audrey Wong

VACAVILLE - Solano Community College officials received state approval Monday to move forward with building a new Vacaville satellite campus.

The college plans to develop the Vacaville center on a 60-acre site in the North Village Development off Vaca Valley Parkway. The center is expected to be completed by 2007, SCC spokeswoman Nancy Hopkins said Wednesday.

Currently, SCC holds its Vacaville classes at an eight-classroom facility by Vaca Valley Parkway across from the Genetech Inc. office, said Leslie Roda, coordinator of the Vacaville center. The future campus will provide more space and opportunities for students, she said.

"At night we're totally maxed out," Roda said. "We don't have enough room to meet our current needs at night. We're more full during the day. . . We definitely need more space. By the time the new center is built we'll be bursting at the seams."

The Vacaville campus will share some similarities to the future satellite site in Vallejo. Like Vallejo, it will offer a large lecture hall and "smart" classrooms that have Internet access, equipment for Power Point presentations and other amenities, Roda said. The center will also have science labs and classes where students can learn dance or other physical education activities, she said.

The present campus offers yoga, but doesn't have enough room for other physical education classes. Students must also travel to the Rockville campus for science lab classes.

The new Vacaville center will save students the drive to Fairfield for a number of classes, Roda said. SCC will partner with St. Mary's College to offer some programs from the four-year institution. College officials are also talking with California State University officials about holding some of the university's programs there.

Last year, there were questions as to the proposed site met state law because it is close to the landing approach for the Nut Tree airport. The college found documentation which proves that the landing approach in question has been changed and doesn't affect the proposed campus, Hopkins said.

Money from the $124.5 million Measure G bond will fund construction of the new Vacaville campus.

Reach Audrey Wong at 427-6951 or at awong@dailyrepublic.net.