John Murray, an architect for Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects, speaks Monday at the groundbreaking for a building that will house the Emergency Medical Science Program at Robeson Community College in Lumberton. The $2.7 million building will be located to the rear of campus.
                                 Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian

John Murray, an architect for Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects, speaks Monday at the groundbreaking for a building that will house the Emergency Medical Science Program at Robeson Community College in Lumberton. The $2.7 million building will be located to the rear of campus.

Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian

<p>Robeson Community College President Melissa Singler speaks Monday on the size and scope of the Emergency Medical Science building during a groundbreaking ceremony at the campus in Lumberton.</p>
                                 <p>Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian</p>

Robeson Community College President Melissa Singler speaks Monday on the size and scope of the Emergency Medical Science building during a groundbreaking ceremony at the campus in Lumberton.

Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian

<p>Robeson Community College board of trustees Chairman Sammy Cox, speaks Monday during the groundbreaking for the Emergency Medical Science facility at the campus in Lumberton. The building is expected to be completed by the summer of 2021.</p>
                                 <p>Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian</p>

Robeson Community College board of trustees Chairman Sammy Cox, speaks Monday during the groundbreaking for the Emergency Medical Science facility at the campus in Lumberton. The building is expected to be completed by the summer of 2021.

Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian

<p>Robeson Community College trustees Les Noble, right, Pedro “Tito” Massol, Sammy Cox and Danny Steadman, and RCC President Melissa Singler, center, break ground Monday on the Emergency Medical Science building. The $2.78 million, 7,580-square-foot building, is scheduled to be complete by June 2021.</p>
                                 <p>Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian</p>

Robeson Community College trustees Les Noble, right, Pedro “Tito” Massol, Sammy Cox and Danny Steadman, and RCC President Melissa Singler, center, break ground Monday on the Emergency Medical Science building. The $2.78 million, 7,580-square-foot building, is scheduled to be complete by June 2021.

Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian

<p>Singler</p>

Singler

LUMBERTON — Faculty, staff and students in the Robeson Community College’s Emergency Medical Science Program soon will have a building to call their own.

College leadership on Monday broke ground on Building 19, which will house the program currently located in the Health Science facility.

“Our students, when they come to this building, they’ll know that they have some ownership,” EMS Program Director Eric Freeman said. “We currently have a law enforcement building and we have a fire building and a health science building, so in the public safety realm, this will complete the circle — each department having its own building and its own place to train.”

The $2.78 million, 7,580-square-foot building will house two adaptable academic areas that can extend into four classrooms or labs, a conference room and five administrative offices.

Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects, based in Wilmington, designed the new facility.

“We’re going to deliver a state-of-the-art facility that’s really not going to be comparable to anything else in this part of the state,” said John Murray, an architect with the firm. “You’re going to be proud of the end result.”

The building is funded through the 2016 NC Connect Bond Referendum. Connect NC is a $2 billion bond that provides funding for statewide investments in education, agriculture, parks, safety, and water and sewer infrastructure.

The goal of the bond is to connect the state’s public facilities to the 21st century, enhance the state’s economic development efforts, and attract new and assist existing industry, business, technology and tourism, according to North Carolina General Assembly House Bill 943.

“Teamwork and partnership mark the preparations that have brought us to this point today,” RCC President Melissa Singler said. “By devoting additional and more functional space to the education and training of our students, we are providing for the next generation of well-trained health-care providers and first responders for our county.”

Freeman said the addition of the new building will not only make room for the EMS Program, but also allow other programs the ability to grow.

“It will give us a dedicated space to allow our programs to grow,” Freeman said. “It’s going to allow us to share our resources to allow the EMS program to grow and it will also free up space to let other programs grow.”

The facility also will serve as a place for EMS students to train around the clock.

“We train days, nights, weekends, so this will give us a place to train 24 hours a day, 365 days a year because EMS doesn’t close on Sundays, doesn’t close on Wednesdays,” he said. “We’re constantly training. That’s going to be a great thing for us.”

The project is expected to be complete by June 2021.

“Overall, I think this is a building we can be proud of,” said Sammy Cox, RCC board of trustees chairman.

Later on Monday, the RCC board of trustees learned during a Zoom meeting that the 2019-20 school year ended with a significant increase in enrollment despite COVID-19.

Steven Hunt, vice president of Work Force Development and Continuing Education, told trustees that COVID-19 had a negative effect on enrollment projection in some departments but the Continuing Education Department still finished with a 44% increase over this past year’s enrollment.

Hunt had projected full-time enrollment to be 925. The projection was exceeded by five students.

The trustees also learned that Continuing Education’s revenue has increased more than $1 million. The 2018-19 fiscal year brought $2.9 million and the 2019-20 revenue finished at $4.2 million, Hunt said.

The word “wow” was use to describe the accomplishment.

“Con-ed has had a super super year last year,” Hunt said.

Patrena Elliott, vice president of Instruction and Student Support, also spread good news during her report.

The 2020 spring enrollment in curriculum courses gained an addition 205 students over the previous academic year, Elliott said.

Enrollment in the Career and College Promise also increased 141 students for the 2020 spring semester over the previous spring.

“Curriculum experienced a really good year as it relates to our enrollment and FTE,” Elliott said.

Also Monday, Mitchell “Bosco” Locklear and Pedro “Tito” Massol were the newest members sworn onto RCC’s board of trustees.

Locklear was appointed by the Public Schools of Robeson County Board of Education, of which he was a former member. He served as the school board’s chairman in 2014 and 2015. He takes the seat vacated by Eddie Moore.

Locklear is the former housing director for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a position he held for almost 10 years. He also holds a seat on the Robeson County Department of Social Services board of directors.

Massol was appointed to the board of trustees by Gov. Roy Cooper and takes the place of Michael Van Etten.

Massol is a part-time real estate agent for RE/MAX and works as a Community Health liaison for HealthKeeperz. He also serves as a member of the Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Reach Tomeka Sinclair at [email protected] or 910-416-5865.