SAN JOSE — San Jose City College has formally unveiled a new learning hub that would bolster the school’s mission as a “workforce development engine” for Silicon Valley’s ever-complex economy.
The college has opened a $112 million learning center that is located at what the school calls the physical and symbolic center of the campus at 2100 Moorpark Ave. in San Jose.
San Jose City College Career Education Complex, gathering areas and exterior. (Jason O’Rear Photography, Steinberg Hart)
“The building allows our community to engage in courses for opportunities that actually exist in business and industry,” Dr. Marilyn Flores, president of San Jose City College, said in an interview with this news organization.
The new Career Education Complex totals roughly 120,000 square feet. The hub consists of the combination of a 0,000-square-foot new building and the renovation of a 30,000-square-foot existing building, City College stated.
Interior and study areas of San Jose City College Career Education Complex. (Jason O’Rear Photography, Steinberg Hart)
The complex bolsters San Jose City College’s mission to bolster its role as a “workforce development engine for Silicon Valley” and consolidates an array of departments in a single interconnected site, college officials said.
“The center reflects what the workplace environment for students would actually be,” Flores said. “We are reengaging in conversations with tech companies, medical, health, manufacturing and other industries to create pipelines that go directly from college to career.”
Interior section, San Jose City College Career Education Complex. (Jason O’Rear Photography, Steinberg Hart)
The Career Education Complex will house 15 departments, including programs for computer science, medical assisting, electrical engineering, air conditioning and refrigeration technology, facilities maintenance, and emergency medical services. Steinberg Hart designed the center, and Flint Builders was the general contractor.
“The idea was to unify these departments to expose people to several career paths,” said Katia McClain, a partner with architecture and design firm Steinberg Hart.
The building is four stories and was crafted to give students a view of the college and surrounding South Bay landscape.
“It is enriching for students to see that there is more than one path to a career,” McClain said.
The building opened a few months ago, but the college held a formal grand opening for the education complex Wednesday.
“The center has these little nooks with comfortable areas for students to sit, study, plug in their laptops,” Flores said. “Students don’t have to leave and go home to study. They can stay at the center. This creates a very personal and powerful learning environment for our students.”