COLLEGE'S BEACHHEAD; CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD FACILITY WILL SOON BE FIXTURE IN A.V.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

A $788,000 classroom building to house upper-division college courses will be ready in January, giving the California State University a toehold in the Antelope Valley, officials said Friday.

With $60,000 allocated for the project in the state budget, California State University, Bakersfield, and Antelope Valley College now have the financing in place to provide a permanent home for CSUB classes in the Antelope Valley. A 11,000-square-foot classroom building will be erected on the northern end of the AVC campus.

``This is a step toward a much more formal presence of the CSU system,'' said Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, who helped secure the $60,000 funding.

Cal State Bakersfield has offered courses at Antelope Valley College for 10 years, operating wherever it could rent space. The classroom building will give the university a permanent home in the Antelope Valley and allow the college to expand its upper-division course offerings.

``This will give us an identity here,'' said Fred Dorer, special assistant to the president of CSUB.

CSUB officials said the Antelope Valley campus will allow students to complete degree requirements through the regular program of the university and pay regular university fees, but do all of the work in the Antelope Valley.

CSUB and the CSU system will commit about $700,000 to the project, including providing the building and telecommunications equipment. Antelope Valley College is providing about $88,000 for the effort, including installing water and sewer lines and providing the necessary connections for the telecommunications equipment.

CSUB serves about 400 students in the Antelope Valley now. That will grow to 600 to 700 people in January when the building opens.

The initial course offerings will include teacher preparation courses, criminal justice and an expanded business and economics offerings. CSUB expects to add English, psychology and nursing classes.

Courses will be taught both by teachers in the classroom and by teachers in Bakersfield who will use two-way telecommunication hookups to interact with their students. The two-way system will also allow teachers in Lancaster to conduct courses for students in Bakersfield, Dorer said.

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PHOTO (Color) A.V. College President Linda Spink talks about the new Cal State Bakersfield facility while, from left, CSUB officials Robert Catlin and Fred Dorer, State Sen. William ``Pete'' Knight and Assemblyman George Runner listen.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer