Learning Resource Center opening at Rio Hondo College

A 94,000 square foot, state of the art Learning Resource Center will be open this Fall when students resume classes at Rio Hondo Community College. Please read more about this new facility below from an article from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Rio Hondo supporters get sneak peek of new $34 million Learning Resource Center

By Tracy Garcia, Staff Writer
Posted: 08/13/2009 08:22:16 PM PDT

WHITTIER - About a week before it opens to students, a select group of Rio Hondo College supporters got a sneak peek Thursday at its latest accomplishment in a massive campus facilities overhaul: the scenic, state-of-the-art, 94,000-square-foot Learning Resource Center.
It's been three years since the college first broke ground on the LRC, a two-story building that includes a second-floor library overlooking the San Gabriel Valley, as well as a teleconferencing lounge, media studio and classrooms. And when the majority of students return to the hilltop college for the fall semester on Aug. 24, they'll finally be able to take advantage of the $34.7 million LRC.

"This is a big, big day for Rio Hondo College," Board president Andre Quintero told dozens of special guests that included Whittier Mayor Bob Henderson, former Rio Hondo College President Rose Marie Joyce, Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Santa Fe Springs, and well-known community leader Ruth B. Shannon.
These guests, and several others, are part of the President's Circle, a select group of supporters who have donated generously to the Rio Hondo College Foundation.
"I'm so proud to be here," Quintero said. "People worked so hard for so many years to make this place happen."
The LRC was mostly paid for with state funds, but it's one part of the college's long-term Facilities Master Plan that calls for an update of the aging campus to accommodate an expected surge in enrollment over the next few years.
Already this spring, officials said, enrollment topped 28,000 students.
Other projects in the pipeline for the college include a new Physical Education Complex, a Student Services/Student Union complex, and a rehabilitation of the college's entire Central Quad plaza and landscaping area.
They will be funded by the college's $245 million Measure A bond, which voters approved in March 2004.
Thursday's reception began with a State of the College address by President Ted Martinez Jr., performances by Rio Hondo College singers, and remarks from LRC architect David Martin.
Guests were then encouraged to take a tour through the facility, which is not yet fully furnished with books and computers, but should be ready for student use in the next couple of weeks.
In designing the LRC, Martin said several factors came into play - including the motivation for something with a strong presence on the campus' lower quad, as well as something that was in sync with the 1950s and 1960s architecture of the existing buildings.
"This building also kind of hung over the hill," Martin said. "The entire south wall is on a curve on the back end of the site

Librarian Adele Enright, right, guides a tour through the library level of the Learning Resource Center. Members and guests of the President's Circle attend a preview reception and tour of Rio Hondo College's new Learning Resource Center at the Whittier campus Aug. 13, 2009. (SGVN/Staff photo by Leo Jarzomb)- but what a great way to (showcase) the view." It's also energy-efficient, Martin said, pointing out features like motion-sensor lights and new carpeting made of recycled materials.
"It's a great moment to celebrate the completion" of a project, Martin told the crowd. "Thank you so much."
tracy.garcia@sgvn.com
(562) 698-0955, Ext. 3051