SIKESTON AREA HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER DEDICATION SET FOR FRIDAY, SEPT. 16

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Two years after the Sikeston Area Higher Education Center began teaching college classes and offering technical training in the Sikeston area, the center is operating in new quarters.

The $4.8 million building will be dedicated Saturday at 2 p.m. Gov. Mel Carnahan will be the featured speaker. The center is at the intersection of Route ZZ and U.S. 61. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

The Sikeston Area Higher Education Center is a cooperative effort of Southeast Missouri State University, Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and the Sikeston School District.

It offers college credit courses for transfer credit or two-year degrees, certificate courses and customized training programs. Technical training is offered to local industries.

The center covers 33,000 square feet and is built on a 25-acre site in the Sikeston Industrial Park. It contains eight regular classrooms, an interactive television classroom, three industry laboratories, and several other labs, including a computer lab. The building also will house administrative offices.

The structure is built to accommodate 422 students at one time. It is designed for future expansion should enrollment grow, Southeast officials said.

William B. Ittner Inc. of St. Louis served as the project architect. Bridger Construction Inc. of Sikeston was the general contractor.

When the education center began operating in the fall of 1998, enrollment was 305. Classes were held in a renovated bank building in Sikeston.

This semester, classes are being held in the new center. Enrollment has more than doubled with 672 students taking classes.

There are 49 classes being offered at the center this semester, including 28 Southeast courses. Three Rivers is providing the other 21 classes.

"It's a beautiful building and it is so spacious," said center Director Judy Buck.

The new center was funded with money from a sales tax approved by Sikeston voters and $1.5 million in state money.