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Sinclair explores $25M campus expansion

New site would house health science classes.

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 6:39 AM Friday, February 3, 2012

DAYTON — Sinclair Community College is taking steps toward building a $25 million education center that would consolidate its course offerings in the life and health sciences, which represent nearly a third of the courses taken by the school’s 21,000 students.

Sinclair’s board of trustees on Saturday approved the spending of $50,000 to examine the most efficient way to develop the center on the college’s downtown campus.

An actual site for the center has not been identified, and the college hasn’t decided for sure if the center will be housed in a new building or in existing facilities.

The planning is part of Sinclair’s master planning process, college spokesman Adam Murka said.

An initial plan is expected to be in place by July, with a final decision on whether to move ahead with the project expected in the first quarter of 2013.

The concept of a life and health sciences center has been bandied about at Sinclair since at least 2005.

On Monday, the school requested $4 million in state funding for the project. It also recently sought $5 million in federal funding through the Dayton Development Coalition. The remaining $16 million would come from local and private funds, though it wasn’t clear Thursday how much of that $16 million would come from Sinclair itself.

In an application for federal funds, the college said it expects its life and health science program to grow enough in the next five years to generate 40 new jobs at the campus.

And a recent Ohio Department of Job and Family Services report projected employment in the health care and social assistance fields in Ohio will soar 21 percent between 2008 and 2018.

“Every indication that we have ... is that those professions will be in great demand for years to come,” said Dr. Dave Collins, Sinclair’s associate provost.

According to a board of trustees resolution authorizing the $50,000 exploratory process, Sinclair currently offers health education courses in eight buildings.

If built, the new facility could include state-of-the-art patient simulation, as well as a public clinic at which students supervised by licensed faculty could provide some limited care to the community, according to the resolution.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDaily News.com.

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