Shelby M. Jackson campus to get makeover

Published 12:01 am Thursday, January 3, 2008

FERRIDAY — Twenty-nine years after it was built, the Shelby M. Jackson campus of the Louisiana Technical College is going to get a facelift even as it grows.

The campus is one of 14 technical and community colleges around the state that is going to receive significant capital outlay funds, Dean Mignon Ater said.

Located on the north side of Ferriday, the campus will receive between $4.5 and $6 million for expansion and renovation.

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The entire project is expected to take off and be completed fairly quickly, Ater said.

“The timeframe is going to hopefully be completion in three years with a groundbreaking as early as late February or early March,” she said.

Having already met with consultants, Ater said what is tentatively planned for the campus is to allocate $1.5 million of the funds toward updates for the current facilities.

“The other $3.5 million will be used for a new multi-purpose building, used primarily for the nursing and allied health programs,” Ater said.

Shelby M. Jackson campus Recruiter Shanna Froust said she hopes the expanded facilities will help attract students to the school.

“We will be able to take in more students at one time and have bigger classes,” she said.

Ater agreed.

“It will enhance the facility we already have and are doing an excellent job with, and it will allow us to do an even better job,” she said.

“We are just extremely excited about this,” she said. “It’s going to be great for the campus but also for the community and the Miss-Lou as a whole.”