The Cardinal

The Changing Face of Mount Vernon Campus

Arden Ainley
Public Information Office
Skagit Valley College celebrated the opening of its new sciences and health occupations building, Laura Angst Hall, with a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, September 15, 2009.  The program began at 11:00 a.m. at the building’s east entry and was followed by building tours, department demonstrations, and opportunities to meet faculty members. 
The 65,232 square foot building will feature exceptional learning environments for the fast-growing health occupations including Registered Nursing and Practical Nursing, Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomy Assistant, and Medical Billing and Coding.  Within the Nursing department, state-of-the-art simulation labs will increase capacity to serve student needs. The energy conservation features and rain garden designed into the building will serve as an ideal lab for the Environmental Conservation program.  In addition, the building will provide classroom and lab spaces for many science departments including Astronomy, Biological Science, Chemistry, Environmental Conservation, and Physics.
By working with regional healthcare providers, community partners, economic leaders, and other colleges and universities, SVC continues to respond to the demand for highly skilled healthcare professionals and provide a strong foundation for students who desire to pursue science as a career, as well as providing exceptional basic training in the sciences.  “It is exciting to see our vision of tomorrow’s training beginning to unfold today,” said
Dr. Gary Tollefson, President of Skagit Valley College.“As we open the doors of Laura Angst Hall, we are entering a new era of providing our students and the community with access to outstanding sciences and healthcare training facilities.” 
Students will be immersed in a learning environment where the latest technology and eLearning advances are integrated into their everyday studies along with opportunities for hands-on learning with the latest equipment in the science and health fields. Wi-fi networks and smart classrooms allow SVC to offer more eLearning options in partnership with other community colleges and four-year universities across Washington.  In addition, the college’s commitment to constructing a “green” building, a space that has been designed with many environmentally friendly features, has given Laura Angst Hall a silver LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating, with hopes of obtaining a Gold rating.  Design and construction targets the highest standards in energy conservation such as lighting that self-adjusts to incoming natural light, a rain garden, and photovoltaic panels that supply 8.5% of the building’s total electricity usage in kilowatt-hours.
Laura Angst Hall replaces the original Angst Hall, which was built in 1956 and named for pioneer SVC biology professor Dr. Laura Angst who joined the SVC faculty for the 1927-28 academic year.  Dr. Angst retired from SVC in 1950.
For more information, call (360) 416-7997.