By TENA L. COOK, Chadron State College
CHADRON – Chadron State College celebrated the recently completed $32 million Math Science Center of Innovative Learning (COIL) Wednesday. More than 180 businesses, families, and organizations supported the project with $3.65 million in donations.
A slate of speakers, including Nebraska State College System (NSCS) Chancellor Paul Turman and CSC President Randy Rhine thanked the assembled crowd of supporters, community members, and employees.
“This project is a fine example of a great Nebraska public-private partnership. Projects like this require a great deal of planning and dedication to conceive and construct. We had a great team in our architectural firm Bahr Vermeer and Hacker, and our construction manager Adolfson & Peterson. Of course, this couldn't have happened without the private support of alumni and friends. Today is a day where we celebrate the college and its donors,” Rhine said.
Over the past 10 years more than $80 million of construction projects have been completed on campus including the Coffee Agriculture Pavilion and Rangeland complex, the Chicoine Center, the Sports Complex, the Track and Field Complex, and Eagle Ridge housing.
“And we're not done yet,” Turman said. “This new facility is a true work of art and an architectural wonder. It is amazing and inspiring to our students, western Nebraska, and this region.”
Renovation of the building has long been a top priority for the NSCS Board of Trustees. In 2019, Nebraska Senators and Gov. Pete Ricketts approved funding, which involved a complete renovation of the existing structure and addition of a new nearly 17,000-square foot north wing. Groundbreaking for the project took place in Sept. 2020.
The building meets contemporary laboratory and teaching standards and includes a lecture hall with two 120-inch projection screens, active learning classrooms and labs, study spaces, extensive audio-visual technologies. The building also includes the Dr. Lois Veath Planetarium, the Eleanor Barbour Cook Museum of Geology, and the High Plains Herbarium.
Construction of the original building began in 1968 and it was dedicated in March 1971 at a cost of $1.09 million.
Rhine noted that Turman proposed the terms of the bond that enabled the Math Science COIL to be completed in one phase instead of three. Turman, in turn, thanked Nebraska State Sen. John Stinner, and former and current staff at the NSCS Office in Lincoln for helping him with brainstorming efforts and proposing various options. In 2019, Nebraska State Senators approved $28.5 in bonds to finance the project.
The Math and Science faculty were recognized for their sacrifices to make the project a success. They vacated the building and moved to temporary labs, classrooms, and offices in other buildings on campus for two years.
“They never complained. Our faculty have been incredibly supportive and patient as we move through this project,” Rhine said. “The original building served us for more than 50 years. The academic programs that resided there served our students state and region with significant success. The RHOP (Rural Health Opportunities Program) was conceived and championed by Dr. (Jay) Druecker. This facility will open new possibilities for CSC to continue preparing STEM teachers and medical professionals.”
Turman said the 1971 facility desperately needed to be upgraded.
“This is a monumental project, a great facility so students can learn at the highest levels. I’m very excited to see what COIL will provide CSC, our ability to recruit students, and then bring those students right back into the workforce here in Nebraska in years to come,” Turman said. “We have so many great programs in place like RHOP to create unique STEM opportunities for students to stay in the rural areas of the state. As you get the opportunity to walk through this space, I think what it has to offer our students is going to spark your amazement.”
He thanked Chadron State Foundation CEO Ben Watson and the Foundation for their fund-raising efforts which allowed the NSCS to move quickly on the project. Turman also thanked the 309 Task Force that invested about $1.3 million. The Nebraska Environmental Trust awarded CSC a $483,500 grant for the project.
Chadron State Foundation Board Chair John Smith acknowledged the foundation’s board of directors for their support, along with past presidents of the foundation board and Watson’s predecessor, Connie Rasmussen.
“We thank their whole staff for all the hard work they have put forth and efforts they’ve made because this wouldn't have been possible without them. This building will surely be home to unlimited experiences that will be part of the story of so many students. This fantastic facility is really just a new beginning. Be proud of the legacy you have. This building may be built by steel, concrete, bricks, and mortar but is also built on dreams, sacrifices, dedication, perseverance, and the true spirit of positive growth. We call that the Nebraska way,” Smith said.
Other speakers included Kelly Schoch, a senior of Columbus, Nebraska, majoring in Chemistry. She is a pre-medicine student in RHOP and president of the Health Professions Club who plans a career in women's medicine, and Math Instructor Jordan Haas.
“I would like to thank our professors, the design team, and everyone who made the COIL building a possibility. It gives students a feeling of community and belonging,” Shoch said.
She said positive shadowing experiences with a doctor in her hometown encouraged her career path decision.
“This led me to my ultimate goal of returning to rural Nebraska as an obstetrician and gynecologist in underserved areas,” she said.
“I felt like this was where I was meant to be. CSC is all about the people. The people make this place what it is. Our faculty inspire students day in and day out. The reason they're so great is they care about the job they're doing and the people they're doing it for,” Haas said.
Haas said the building is a conduit for creating relationships that will endure.
“A talented educator can inspire with just a blackboard and a piece of chalk. I believe our faculty could teach in a parking lot, a cave, or in an outdated building. But now we have a proper venue for my talented colleagues to really show their stuff and inspire students. This is a tool to provide us with the opportunity to captivate students for years to come. Imagine the sense of community and learning that takes place outside the classroom when they have places to sit together, to talk, to study, and share ideas,” Haas said.
