LEXINGTON, KY - There are only a handful of buildings on the quaint campus of Midway College in Woodford County, so when plans call for tearing one down and replacing it with a modern, state-of-the-art building, that's big news for the 162-year old institution.
The chairman of the board of trustees and the president of Midway College have announced plans to demolish Starks Hall, built in 1925, and replace it with a new learning resource center full of much-needed classrooms of all sizes and types, as well as laboratories and faculty offices. The project is estimated around $5 million with $3.3 million in funding already secured. Demolition of the Starks building will begin in December and the new building, currently unnamed, will open in the coming fall.
"It was just impossible for us to get what we need out of that old building for a college that is on the growth plane that we are on," said William Drake, Ph.D. Midway's President. "This new learning resource building will be a major step forward for us with respect to classrooms and administrative space. It will certainly be ready for an institution that has on the drawing board baccalaureate, masters and professional doctors programs in the very near future."
The project will double the academic capacity of the college and enhance the four pillars the school is known for: nursing, teacher education, equine studies and business.
Midway College has experienced growth in the past five years and has 1,800 students enrolled with 700 attending classes on the main campus. With increased program offerings, new master's degrees and an online college, Midway hopes to grow enrollment on the main campus and at its satellite locations to 2,000 by the end of next year.
"We realize that to continue serving the vital needs of our students, now is absolutely the right time to grow," said James O'Brien, Midway's board chairman. "The demand for higher education is on the rise and we plan to help fill the need."
The new building will blend in nicely with others on campus, said Drake. Architects were challenged to create a structure similar to Starks, but with all the amenities of a modern college building.
He remarked that those who are away from Midway for a while may be surprised when they return. "When you walk on campus again you would do a bit of a double-take, wondering whether that was the same building that had been there for 80 years. Some people might think it is."
The college believes the new Learning Resource Center will provide an impressive gateway to the campus as students, staff and visitors cross the campus bridge, built in 1832, from Stephens Street.
A second major announcement was made with regard to the Midway campus. The college has created a partnership with Christian Care Communities, described as Kentucky's largest faith-based, not-for-profit provider of senior retirement living and long term care for older adults. CCC will purchase land to develop a continuing care retirement community on the edge of the Midway College campus. No completion date has been announced for the project.
The plan bodes well for many of Midway's healthcare students, according to Drake. "The college has reoriented its nursing curriculum in both its associate degree and baccalaureate degree programs around elder care so the academic program is now designed to serve that new facility in unique ways," he said. "Our students will be taking the national certification examination in elder care so we will be uniquely positioned to serve that institution when it is built." Drake said CCC will now begin the task of fundraising and will also tackle issues with permitting and zoning.
The project could become the first in Kentucky to combine a continuing care retirement community with a college or university. "It is an approach to senior living that has been demonstrated effectively elsewhere and that honors people's desire to remain engaged in life," said Keith Knapp, CEO of Christian Care Communities.
Midway, Kentucky's only women's college, is in a growth mode while many similar institutions around the country are struggling. "Women's colleges in the U.S. are under siege. We lose one or two each year because either they go under or go co-educational," Drake said. "Midway College stridently said that we want to continue as a women's college." He added that the college builds its women's college enrollments around strong nursing and equine programs. "We believe enrollment in those two programs will continue to increase. We also have very sound athletic programs that are built around a good business model."
The building replacement project, on a fast track to be completed in less than a year, will quickly enhance Midway College's academic endeavors, Drake said.