New SLCC campus open

Henri C. Bienvenu
henri.bienvenu@techetoday.com

St. Martinville – A large crowd of local and state officials, along with students and interested citizens were on hand last Wednesday, Sept. 28, for a ribbon cutting ceremony that marked the opening of the new Evangeline Campus of the South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) system.
The 36,000-square-foot facility, built at a cost of $9.2 million, sits on a nine-acre site adjacent to North Main Street/LA. 31 and the parish industrial park. The property for the new school was donated to the state by the Levert family, represented at the ceremony by L.C. “Boo” Levert III and Andy Andolesk of the Levert Companies.
Speakers for the occasion included Dr. Natalie Harder, SLCC chancellor; Dr. Willie Smith, vice chancellor; Parish President Guy Cormier, St. Martinville Mayor Thomas Nelson, State Sen. Fred Mills, State Representatives Mike Huval and Terry Landry Sr., and Paul Durand of St. Martin Bank and Elmer Landry of Teche Bank.
The new campus replaces the old facility on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street which was built in the 1960s. It features a welding skills lab, nursing simulation lab, computer labs, an allied health lab, testing center, corporate college training center, a library, classrooms and conference rooms, all under one roof.
The campus will offer business and general studies programs as well as practical nursing, patient care technician and welding.