With shovels in hand, College of Southern Maryland students, faculty, administrators, Board of Trustees members, and current and former elected officials, as well as representatives from Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, LLC (CENG) put blades to the earth and ceremonially broke ground on the second building on the Prince Frederick Campus Sept. 27. (Submitted photo)
PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. (October 5, 2011)—With shovels in hand, College of Southern Maryland students, faculty, administrators and elected officials put blades to the earth and broke ground for the second building on the Prince Frederick Campus Sept. 27. The event also celebrated the anticipated naming of the nuclear engineering training lab in recognition of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, LLC (CENG).
Four years ago, the Prince Frederick Flagship Building opened for classes and almost immediately reached capacity. This second building will add 30,000 square feet of space for classrooms, faculty offices, computer labs and a fitness center. Nearly 3,000 square feet of space will be dedicated to a multipurpose room that will host conferences, lectures, cultural events and concerts with another 3,000 square feet dedicated to the Center for Nuclear Energy Training (CNET).
“I’m excited about the additional classroom space and our new fitness center which will be housed in this new building,” said Prince Frederick Campus Student Association President Tia Dickerson of Lusby, who is in the hospitality management associate’s degree program. “This building will not only be a benefit to our students, but also to our community at large.”
Funding for construction of the second building came from state and county government sources. “Because we are a regional community college, the state will pay 75 percent of the cost of the building; and we’ll ask the community to pay the other 25 percent,” said CSM President Dr. Brad Gottfried.
When Gottfried learned that state funds for planning were available two years ago, he contacted then Calvert County Board of County Commissioner President Wilson H. Parran and County Administrator Terry Shannon. Within an hour they agreed that the college should move forward with Phase II, Gottfried said. “When the funding for this building came up for a vote—and I have been involved with many buildings in my career—I have never seen such an enthusiastic group of commissioners,” Gottfried said. “It is just a joy for me personally to be here before you as we have our groundbreaking.”
“We are certain with the planned conference room, fitness facility, and 3,000-square-foot multipurpose room in [Phase II], CSM will become a desirable place for a variety of people to meet, to learn, to connect, to get fit and to gather—because community colleges are not just traditional classrooms,” said Calvert County Board of County Commissioners President Susan Shaw.
In partnership with CENG and through its donations of more than $300,000, CSM developed the Nuclear Engineering Technology (NET) associate’s degree programs, a welding lab at CSM’s Center for Trades and Energy Training (CTET) in Waldorf, a cooperative education program for students in the NET program and student scholarships.
Describing the day as also a celebration of partnerships, Gottfried said the partnership with CENG has been an unqualified success. “The college has worked as closely as possible with industry to ensure that we can tailor training that meets the needs of industry and provides excellent career paths for our students. Our cooperative efforts here in Southern Maryland have received national attention, specifically the partnership between CENG and CSM.”
At the ceremony, George Gellrich, site vice president, CENG, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant presented Gottfried with a $100,000 check to support the NET program in the new nuclear engineering technology lab, which will be named for CENG as recognition for all of their generous donations to the college.
“We want to raise leaders,” said Gellrich. “About 50 percent of our employee body is going to retire over the next five to 10 years. And the nuclear power industry requires highly skilled, highly knowledgeable individuals and very professional individuals. I can think of no better place than right here [at CSM] to pull those people from.”
Over the summer, 18 CSM students in the NET program served as paid interns at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, according to Gellrich. “The results have been fantastic,” he said, adding that plant employees are excited to see these students return after they graduate.
“I never thought I would go back to school and only by chance did I find out about this new program starting at my local college,” said NET student Jacqueline Quan of Lusby. “The leaps and bounds this institution has made make me proud to be a part of this groundbreaking event,” said Quan about the changes the college has undergone since she first attended the college more than 10 years ago. “I’ve been blessed to be one of the first students to go through the NET program, and although I will graduate before the new nuclear engineering lab is built, I plan on coming back to see its growth.”
“What attracted me to this program was a curiosity I’ve always had about nuclear energy. I know that working in nuclear energy is complex and stimulating, and after spending part of my summer interning at Calvert Cliffs I know this is the right path for me,” Quan said. “I learned that it will be one of those careers that can challenge my abilities in so many ways.”
“When you combine the efforts of two great organizations such as the College of Southern Maryland and Constellation Nuclear Energy Group, you know anything they do will be a great success,” Quan said.
In addition to scholarship funds provided by CENG, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Day & Zimmerman, a provider of supplemental workers to CENG, also provided scholarship funds for CSM students in the NET program. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) provided program content and guidance to CSM as one of 38 colleges nationally participating in the nuclear industry’s Nuclear Uniform Curriculum Program (NUCP).
“As commissioners from the county that houses Maryland’s only nuclear power plant, we believe it is particularly important for the [Center for Nuclear Energy Training] to be here to meet the anticipated need for skilled workers in the nuclear energy industry,” Shaw said.
Enrollment has grown almost 60 percent since the groundbreaking for the Flagship Building on the Prince Frederick Campus, said CSM Board of Trustees Chair Mary Maddox Krug, who continued with a brief history of CSM’s Calvert County Campus. “It was Louis Goldstein’s property, but as he was the Comptroller for the state of Maryland, he could not sell it, so, he gave it away to Washington College, who sold it to us.”
Krug added that the new building will be green by incorporating energy and environmental design features in order to pursue silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
“This would be the college’s first, and only the county’s second, LEED-certified building,” said Krug. “From the ground up, from sustainable landscape to vegetative roofs, we will respect and protect our surroundings.” LEED features include automated energy control systems and large, high-performance windows to maximize natural light. The parking areas will have premium spots reserved for those who car pool and drive hybrid/energy efficient vehicles and, in tandem with the new fitness center, changing rooms and lockers will be available for those who bike to the campus.
Comparing CSM’s new building to the college’s first Calvert County facility on Broomes Island Road, Krug said, “Environmentally, architecturally, academically and in the number of those whose lives we touch, we have indeed come a long way, baby.”
“This is a $10.3 million building,” said Fleming, adding that there are still naming opportunities for classrooms. “This is going to be a unique building in lots of ways, with the nuclear energy training center and the multipurpose space. This is going to be state-of-the-art and completely multimedia compatible like nothing else in Calvert County,” Fleming said. “The anticipated completion is for occupancy in spring 2013, when we’ll be back here for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.”
The architect of Phase II is Grimm and Parker; the contractor is GFG Builders.
For information on room naming opportunities for Phase II of Prince Frederick Campus, visit www.csmd.edu/Foundation or call 301-934-7649.
To view architectural drawings of Phase II and photos of the Groundbreaking Ceremony, visit http://www.csmd.edu/News/MediaResources/11pf2gb.html.