July 28, 2010
East Arkansas Community College-Forrest City
Press Release-Photo Attached

Renovations to EACC’s Classroom Building 2 have been completed and classes will resume meeting in the building for Fall Semester.
  
“The entire building has had a ‘facelift’ and some much-needed updating,” said Morris Boydstun, EACC Vice President for Business Affairs. “The building’s exterior façade was updated a few years ago as well as the foyer on the south entrance. At that time, no work was done on the interior of the building as we were in the process of redoing Classroom Building 3 and 4. Most of the science laboratories are housed in Classroom Building 2 and they were in need of updating and refurbishing. This is the last classroom building on campus to receive a major update,” said Boydstun.
  
In addition to renovations that you can see, there have been a number of additions related to saving energy in the building that aren’t visible to the eye. The HVAC units have been replaced with energy efficient units which will help maintain an even temperature in the classrooms.  “This entire building will provide a more comfortable learning environment for our students,” said Dr. Jeff Watson, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “We’ve added over two inches of additional insulation to the exterior walls and this will really keep the building much more comfortable and will save energy in the process. We have also added updated motion-sensor lighting systems that are energy-efficient as well. ”
  
Funding for the construction was provided in part by Stimulus funding. “We were really grateful to be able to benefit from funds generated by the Recovery Act,” said Boydstun. “It made a huge difference to us to have ready access to monies not included in our annual budget. These major classroom improvements will be of benefit to our students and will certainly facilitate a much more positive academic environment.”

Photo: One of the laboratories in the newly renovated Classroom Building 2 at EACC in Forrest City.