CARROLL, Iowa — Jim Knott of Carroll, retired provost at the DMACC Carroll Campus and a current DMACC Board member, was one of the invited guests taking part Monday in an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony for the $4.2 million Carroll Campus expansion.
Appropriately, the commons area of the new facility is called the James and Marjorie Knott Commons in honor of Jim and his late wife, Marge. For more than 60 years, Jim served as an educator and Marge as a nurse in Carroll.
The ceremony was attended by scores of DMACC administrators and Carroll community leaders and the Knott family.
“It’s my pleasure to be here today to represent the board and to honor a fellow board member that I have great respect and admiration for — Jim Knott,” said DMACC Board of Trustees Vice Chair Kevin Halterman, who acknowledged all the DMACC board members in attendance.
“I also want to offer special thanks to Jim Knott’s family and his supporters for their extra efforts in championing and honoring Jim and Marge’s legacy,’” said DMACC Carroll Campus Provost Dr. Joel Lundstrom.
Lundstrom also extended an early birthday wish to Jim Knott, who turns 92 on Feb. 21.
The 11,700-square-foot expansion is located on the northeast side of the building and includes:
· A welding lab
· Applied engineering classes and lab
· New office space for student services
· Additional study space
· An indoor commons area for both college and community events
DMACC President Rob Denson congratulated the Knotts and then entire Carroll community.
This is a true testament to the DMACC Carroll family and community,” Denson said. “From modest beginnings transforming a public pool house, to today’s facility, Carroll Campus successes have been powered by great leadership and community support.”
He went on to say the thriving Carroll Campus had outgrown the space needed to teach some career and technical classes.
Student speaker Nolan Landauer, a welding student from Carroll, said he’s excited that the expansion will now result in the welding program actually being housed on the Carroll Campus. Until now, welding classes were held at an off-site location.
“Thanks to the generosity of all donors, DMACC and the Carroll Campus Fundraising Committee exceeded is private fund-raising goal by over $60,000,” Denson said. “Congratulations to the students, faculty and staff of DMACC’s Carroll Campus. This is a facility we can all be proud of.”
Denson said the College’s mission at the DMACC Carroll Campus is to provide outstanding academic opportunities for students from throughout this region, which comprises Carroll, Audubon, Manning, Glidden and Coon Rapids, among others.
“We strive to meet all workforce education and training needs of our area employers that will result in qualified, work-ready graduates who will help power economic growth and regional opportunities,” Denson said.
He also singled out Nick Badding and Badding Construction of Carroll for their work as general contractors for the expansion project.
“Currently, DMACC offers more than 200 programs, degrees and certificates in programs across the college, including those offered right here, including everything from computer languages, nursing and welding,” Denson said. “In addition, we offer many bachelor’s degree options in partnership with Buena Vista University and, of course, the very successful 2-plus-2 Elementary Education program that we offer with our friends at the University of Northern Iowa that started right here in Carroll with Jim Knott’s direction. We have had over 329 graduates from this program since 1997.”
Lundstrom said the new James and Marjorie Knott Commons will be used by students and available for use by the Carroll community. He said it has already hosted a speaker series on diversity and inclusion, a Career Discovery Days event attended by more than 350 Iowa high school sophomores, a Chamber Leadership class, Nursing Club meetings, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society meetings and Student Activities Club events.
“We are very excited to use updated facilities to advance our mission to support education, serve the community, and continue to help students achieve their goals,” Lundstrom said. “We do this with the support of amazing faculty and staff, with great support from community leaders such as many of you here today, and of course with support from DMACC administration and the Board of Directors.”
Enrollment at the DMACC Carroll Campus is up 20% over the past six years.
Dan Ivis is the media liaison for DMACC marketing and public relations.
