Red Deer College has received $4.5 million in funding to refurbish and revamp facilities on campus.
Half of the funding comes from the federal government’s Knowledge Infrastructure Program and the other half is in matched provincial government funding.
“It’s enabling us to move people from really bad facilities into first-rate facilities,” said RDC president Ron Woodward, on Friday. He said the work will be completed during the current year.
What had formerly been fine arts classrooms will be redone to house new programs and offices, with the fine arts courses moving to the new Centre for Visual Art in the next couple months.
The former teaching kitchen, which has resided in a modular classroom from a couple decades ago, will move into the old sculpture studio. Once that space is refurbished it will serve as both a teaching kitchen and mixology lab set to open in the fall.
The old ceramics studio and kiln will become two nursing labs, which will eventually house human simulation devices, which are medical robots that can simulate a heart attack, appendicitis and bleeding hands. Information technology staff, who provide computer support for the college, will move into newly redone offices.
Red Deer MP Earl Dreeshen was on campus to make the announcement and said the funding will benefit the community in the short-term with jobs and economic stimulus and in the long-term with better teaching and training facilities.
“Our government is working hard to help Canadians through this economic downturn. We’re stimulating our economy and making the investments necessary to ensure the country’s long-term prosperity,” Dreeshen said.
Woodward said they hope RDC may still receive some more funding from the federal government program to help improve mechanical and electrical infrastructure.