Main Content Start
New NWACC Buildings Offer Expanded Offerings to Students
The summer of 2018 marked a milestone of growth for NWACC. The college broke ground on two new structures – an Integrated Design Lab (IDL) in Bentonville and a facility in Washington County in Springdale.
This fall, the IDL structure was completed and now holds classes in art, construction and design. The Washington County facility is scheduled to open in spring of 2020.
The concept for NWACC’s IDL is that of collaboration and integration fully actualized into one
physical maker space, where form and function, art and entrepreneurship, and creativity
and industry work side by side. The goal for the building is for it to be a place
where inspiration and craft grow into career realities. A grand opening celebration for the new IDL is scheduled for September 27th.
The IDL’s gross space is 18,589 square feet with exterior fabrication space of 4,334
square feet. It houses classrooms, labs and additional space for programs within the
workforce, communication and arts, and business and computer information divisions
of the college. Programming promotes collaboration, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Students who participate in programming in the IDL will have the opportunity to enroll
in the technical certificate of Integrated Design, a credential which stacks fully into the Associate of Fine Arts in Visual Arts and
layers into the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Construction Technology and
the AAS in Computer-aided Drafting. Students in this space will also be strongly encouraged
to obtain a National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) certification
as a supplement to their degree in fine arts or construction technology, and if the
building expands in a Phase II, they will be given a space for the professional practices
of merchandising and exhibition.
NWACC student and communications major, Diego Escobar, is thrilled to see the IDL materialize.
“Knowing that NWACC has invested in the Integrated Design Lab means the world!” he said. “Schools are reinventing what the arts mean. They are taking new steps to make sure a fundamental expression source does not get washed away in a world where individuality is deficient. It now expresses itself loudly here at NWACC.”
NWACC’s new 38,000-square-foot Washington County facility in Springdale is located just west of Arvest Ballpark. It will hold classrooms, labs,
student services, event and office space, and offer courses in general education, nursing, health
information management and emergency medical response. NWACC’s High School Relations,
which oversees the early college experience program, will also be housed in the new
location.
This new facility will consolidate various spaces leased throughout Washington County,
provide increased access and a true collegiate environment for students in the southern
region of NWACC’s service area. A grand opening celebration for the new facility is
scheduled for December 10th.
Mother and daughter NWACC alumnae, Kelly and AJ Powell, spoke at the new facility’s groundbreaking ceremony and were recently able to tour the nearly-completed building.
“During the groundbreaking, this area was just a field. To see the progress in eleven months is awesome. The two-story facility, all the rock work that has been done, it’s absolutely beautiful,” said Kelly. “Not only are the students going to love it but so are the community members of Springdale and northwest Arkansas.”
“I value the education I received from NWACC. Not everyone gets to further their education
after high school, but I love that NWACC gives everyone the best opportunity to do
that, especially with this new Washington County location,” added AJ.
With no taxpayer or state funds allocated to this project, the NWACC Foundation launched
NWACC NOW! - The Campaign for YOUR Community College in 2018 to assist with funding construction of the new facility in Washington County. The campaign is well underway, with the
goal of raising 12 million dollars. For more information, including how to support
the NWACC NOW! campaign, visit nwaccfoundation.org
There’s a Place for You Here.
Visit nwacc.edu or call 479-986-4000 to learn more about choosing a higher education with NWACC.