Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Panola College Approves Energy Technology Building Construction

  • By Matt Jones
  • 02/09/23

The Board of Trustees at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, recently approved the construction of a new energy building on its campus, according to local news. The facility includes 32,000 square feet of interior space and 25,000 square feet of outdoor space, and it will feature amenities like a welding lab; and engines and compression lab; and classrooms and shops for HAC, electrical and motor control, hydraulics and mechanical, commercial wiring, and instrumentation.

According to the Panola Watchman, the project will cost a total of $14.9 million. About $12.3 million of that will go to construction, while the remaining $2.6 million will be spent on furnishings and specialized equipment, according to Corgan Architects project representative David Zatopek.

The main goal of the new facility is to expand the space available for many of the college’s most popular programs.

“We really need more space, and this new facility will allow us to triple our enrollment,” said Panola College President Dr. Greg Powell. Local news outlet KLTV reports that in the current building, between five and nine subjects are being taught at any one time. Classes are stacked on top of one another, and scheduling is tight, said Powell.

“Our programs have grown tremendously. With the onset of the petroleum program, we work with industry to see what their needs are, and that’s how it’s expanded into our other associate degree programs and then some smaller certificates,” said Natalie Oswalt, dean of arts, sciences, and technology. “We will be adding some things like drone technology. We want to be able to offer that to our students and to businesses.”

The Panola Watchman reports that construction began in the last week of January and is scheduled for completion by September 2024.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • University of Illinois Moves Forward with College Sports’ Largest Digital Scoreboard

    The University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., recently announced a series of upgrades to Gies Memorial Stadium that will include the largest scoreboard in college sports, according to a news release.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.