March 15--The two Waubonsee Community College campuses in Aurora now have new names.
The former Aurora Campus, on South River Street downtown, will now be called the Aurora Downtown Campus. The other Aurora location, the former Copley Campus on Ogden Avenue, will now be called the Aurora Fox Valley Campus.
The changes will "better reflect the distinct identities of and create consistency across all four of Waubonsee's campuses," school officials said in a statement.
"The renaming of these campuses aligns with our vision and reaffirms our commitment to the students, residents and employers in our communities," Waubonsee President Christine Sobek said in a statement.
The college's Plano and Sugar Grove campuses will keep their current names.
The 30,000-square-foot former Copley Campus closed in December for renovations, and is scheduled to re-open in July for registration and in August for classes. The $4.8 million in upgrades include renovations of the first floor, which had been rented out in the past and will now be used for instructional and administrative spaces. The upgrades also include a partial renovation of the second floor, a new roof and new heating and cooling units.
The facility is used largely for the college's health care programs, officials said, which include nursing, medical assistant, nurse assistant, surgical technology and others. The campus will also offer an office software specialist certificate, according to the news release.
Most of the offerings at that campus will last eight weeks, though some will continue in the traditional 16-week format, college officials said. The campus will also offer student services such as tutoring and testing resources.
"The fast-paced climate of higher education today demands that we be agile and adept at evolving to meet ever-changing needs while maintaining a high level of quality and delivery," Sobek said in the statement. "The renovation of the Aurora Fox Valley Campus exemplifies those efforts."
