Since the beginning of West Hills College in 1932, with a few classes offered at Coalinga High School, the District has a long history of strategic expansion to meet the needs of students and the community. This growth has included the openings of West Hills College Coalinga in 1956, West Hills College Lemoore in 2002, and the North District Center’s current location in 1998. To continue the District’s strategic growth, support student demand and provide top instruction facilities, two major construction projects are currently underway.Following the retirement of Ken Stoppenbrink, Dr. Richard Storti joined West Hills as Deputy Chancellor in January 2019. Dr. Storti has a substantive history in a mix of public and private sector leadership positions.
The first project is a new state of the art building encompassing 41,623 square feet of classroom, lab, library, and office space at the North District Center located in Firebaugh. The project timeline includes several stages over a multi-year period. The Division of State Architect (DSA) is currently reviewing architectural plans and working drawings for the project with approval anticipated in June 2019. The project timeline calls for construction to commence in October 2019 with a December 2021 completion date.
The West Hills Community College District is committed to promoting and increasing student success by maximizing access to programs and services throughout the region. With a service area of approximately 3,400 square miles, completing the Firebaugh Center project is vital as it will enhance our programs and offerings at the northern section of our district. We are extremely excited about completing this key project as it will provide state of the art classrooms, labs, library and office space to better serve our students and community. The second major project underway is the new District Administration Office Building located in Coalinga. The new building is 21,150 sf in size. Construction is currently underway and completion is anticipated in Fall 2019.
Completing the new District Office building will provide improved efficiencies, work areas, meeting space, and technological improvements to support district level departments and operations. The new DO project is an important step to position the District to capitalize on and support new and existing programs and services.
Along with the Firebaugh Center and District Office projects, other facilities and maintenance related projects are underway to help ensure existing facilities continue to meet the needs of our students and programs. Other scheduled maintenance related projects throughout the District include air conditioning, roofing, painting and lighting upgrades. With limited resources, scheduling these types of projects is important to ensure the facilities support state of the art learning environments and maximize the useful life of facilities. Reactions to the District Office Building
“The new office will be a more professional setting than we are in now,” said Becky Cazares, West Hills Community College District Human Resources Director. “It will afford us more space we desperately need. I’m very excited about the new building.” Reactions to the North District Center building
“The expansion of the West Hills College Coalinga North District Center (Firebaugh Center) supports the commitment of the District and Coalinga College to lead the way for Westside residents in earning higher education degrees, receiving career technical trainings and transferring to colleges and universities," said Dr. Bertha Felix Mata, Associate Dean/North District Center Director. "In the tradition of community colleges, Firebaugh Center will partner with several agencies by housing them within the new building. In addition to increased classrooms and educational amenities, the College Center will include other amenities including offices for the Fresno Agriculture Commissioner, and a Library shared space with the City of Firebaugh public library. All these features along with student study areas and meeting spaces throughout the building will provide a comfortable education environment conducive to learning and professional development. The communities in the Westside are excited and eagerly waiting for the new college building!”