Ceremony to mark grand opening of community center at South Carolina State University

South Carolina State University has scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony next month for the 1890 Research and Extension Community Center on its Orangeburg campus.

The Orangeburg Times and Democrat reports that the $2.7 million, 13,750-square-foot building will be used for community classes as well as office space.

"We were out of space," says. Louis Whitesides, executive director of the 1890 program. "Our organization is growing. The demand on our business has been growing. We were busting at the seams."

The ceremony is scheduled for July 10.

The building will have six classrooms and will be available for community courses. The facility also has a conference room.

The facility also will be used for community outreach and special programs to reach youth. It will house administrative and programmatic offices and classrooms for lifelong learning, non-credit and informal community classes.

"Whatever our community needs, we can have a program for it," Whitesides says.

The building was paid for with grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture 1890 Facility Grant Program.

The project was among many university officials had wanted to build over the years, but the university's financial difficulties five years ago put the projects on hold.