Curry Campus

Evonne Tribble (holding check on right) of the Curry County Board of Realtors presents SWOCC President Patty Scott (holding check on left) with a check for $25,000 toward the new Curry Campus.

BROOKINGS, OR – The Curry County Board of Realtors voted to give $25,000 to the New Curry Campus Capital Campaign at their February 18 meeting.

“The community will benefit from the new campus and the association is proud to support it,” said Evonne Tribble, the President of the Board of Realtors.

This is the first major gift to be given from the fund which is compounded from the realtors’ broker fees.

Dr. Patty Scott, the Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) President, was in Brookings on Friday to thank the officers of the Board.

“We are very thankful to the members of the Board of Realtors for this very generous gift,” said Scott. “This gift will add to the momentum in our campaign.”

The college has received an allocation in matching funds from the State of Oregon legislature in the amount of $2.3 million. The allocation, combined with the matching funds ($4.6 million total), is enough to cover just the construction of the building; however the total project comes to $7 million once you add in the preparation of the site, necessary infrastructure, and furnishing of the facility.

“The Oregon legislature’s allocation expires in June 2011, so we need to begin construction this spring. It is not the best of times to ask, but we are urgently seeking donations and pledges by April so that we can plan for construction.”

We are very thankful to the members of the Board of Realtors for this very generous gift,” said Scott

Nearly all Board of Education, Foundation Board and top administrative staff of SWOCC, have made a financial commitment. Large gifts can be spread out over up to five years.

The College has developed plans to construct a “campus in a building” in Brookings.  It is a modest proposal for a six-classroom building that will house laboratory space for computer learning and medical services training, as well as a multiuse community conference area.  

The new campus will provide community members the opportunity to complete an Associate degree, medical program certificate or first two years of transferrable general education right in Brookings, rather than travelling 107 miles north to the campus in Coos Bay.

This project is extremely important to regional economic development, and has been identified as an economic development strategy critical to meet the goals of business and residential recruitment for Curry County.