The Ranger Online

Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Rennie Murrell Dr. Eric Reno welcomes guests to Northeast Lakeview Nov. 14.

"Today I have the great fortune of being president of Northeast Lakeview," Dr. Eric Reno, president of the college, said Nov. 14, at the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the college.

"We are not just the newest college within the Alamo Community College District, we are the newest comprehensive community college in the nation."

About 400 people officially welcomed Northeast Lakeview, the district's fifth college, into the district family and the surrounding communities.

A ceremonial coin featuring the seal of Northeast Lakeview was handed out at the dedication ceremony.

Reno recognized all the people, communities, businesses and institutes of higher education that contributed to the development of the new college.

Denver McClendon, district board chairman, said, "Today is a wonderful day, and days like this do not come very often, and often take a very long time to come."

McClendon remarked on the district's board of trustees level of involvement in the development of the campus at Northeast Lakeview.

"They worked tirelessly to take this from a dream to a reality," McClendon said. "You can look at this beautiful campus and see that that reality has come true."

Northeast Lakeview is a great example of the district and the community working together for the citizens of Bexar County and the district's service area, he said.

Chancellor Bruce Leslie said this day would not have happened if it were not for the municipalities asking for a community college on the Northeast Side.

The University of Texas Health Science Center is using the money the district spent to purchase the property Northeast Lakeview resides on for Alzheimer's research.

"This property is having multiple impacts," Leslie said. "Not just on the education of new people, but on the solving and solutions of the most challenging health issues that we face as a society."

The benefits to San Antonio, to this part of the city and the entire state of Texas are profound, he said.

"This is a wonderful day," District 21 Sen. Judith Zaffirini said.

Zaffirini presented Reno with the flag that flew over the state capitol on the day of the groundbreaking ceremony, April 5, 2007.

She said this day is remarkable because, "Today is a celebration of increased access to higher education."

This college will ensure that more students will continue their education at higher levels to secure degrees in the business, health and professional venues, Zaffirini said.

"They will be able to do this all because they could afford it and because they started right here," Zaffirini said.

Zaffirini invited all to participate in the legislative session that will convene in Austin on Jan. 13 in support of the higher education agenda.

One of the key legislative issues in Senate Bill 41, which Zaffirini pre-filed, is to have all community college personnel health benefits funded by the state, she said.

Zaffirini asked for the support of Senate Bill 31, which will allow students who complete their academic courses at community colleges and transfer to a four-year institution and complete their degree in a timely manner, a tuition rebate.

State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, wife of board chairman Denver McClendon, said. "The entire community can be proud of this investment,"

Enrollment has increased at a rapid pace thanks to San Antonio and St. Philip's colleges, state Rep. McClendon said.

There are about 4,000 students taking classes at Northeast Lakeview, she said.

Rep. McClendon said the $1.3 million originally requested for new campus funding was vetoed by the governor, and she said she would be returning to the Legislature in January, requesting additional funding of $9.6 million to provide for contact hours generated from Northeast Lakeview's rapid growth.

Contact hours are the actual hours professors spend in class with their students per semester.

The Northeast Partnership was formed when the mayors of Universal City, Windcrest, Converse, Schertz, Selma, Garden Ridge and Live Oak concluded that one of the major opportunities their communities were lacking was an institution of higher education, John Williams, mayor of Universal City and communications lecturer at the college, said.

"Because of this commitment and working with the district's board of trustees, Northeast Lakeview is now a reality," he said.

Joe Painter, mayor of Live Oak, offered a proposal to combine the Northeast Lakeview library with a community library on campus.

"We are here to serve the community, and the community is here to serve us," Painter said.

For more information visit: http://www.accd.edu/nlc.

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