Northwest Vista College Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary with Grand Opening of New Buildings

Ten years ago, faculty and staff moved into the first building on campus amongst the damage of one of the biggest floods in San Antonio history. NVC president Jackie Claunch recalled at the ribbon cutting ceremony Oct. 17 with dignitaries and community leaders that she looked out into the parking lot back then and wondered how there would be enough students to fill up all the spaces.

Ten years later and thanks to voters who approved the bond election for an expansion, NVC has increased in size with the addition of Redbud and Juniper Halls, which means more than 139,000 square feet of space. College enrollment has also leaped from just 1,721students in 1998 to more than 12,000 this semester.

Later this year, the campus will get two more buildings with Palmetto and Cypress.
"I've marveled about the number of students we were able to serve with facilities that only served 3,000 students. This has been possible with the willingness of students, ACCD leadership and the NVC faculty and staff," Claunch said.

ACCD Chancellor Dr. Bruce Leslie said he's been on many college campuses from Washington state to New York, and he's never seen a campus like NVC's that's so "beautiful and pristine." He added with the new buildings, there can now be some "breathing room."
ACCD board chairman Denver McClendon said the citizens should be proud of the investment they have made in this campus.

NVC faculty senate president Laura Lawrence said faculty and staff also lent a hand in the design of the buildings and that's something to be proud of.

"We achieved the dream," she said. "I don't know if anyone could have imagined this 10 years ago when we were in trailers."

Northwest Vista College, which opened in 1995, is part of The Alamo Colleges. Located at 3535 N. Ellison Drive, next to SeaWorld of Texas, NVC’s expanding agreements with business and higher education partnerships provide a wealth of opportunities for students and the community.