There is a new addition to the Fullerton College campus this spring. The state-of-the-art Technology and Engineering Complex will be home to multiple divisions.

The complex includes a completely remodeled Technology and Engineering Building (700) and the brand-new 900 Building that consists of the Automotive and Machine and Printing Technology departments.

The Technology and Engineering Building’s primary programs are Humanities, Administrative Justice, Architecture, Computer Aided Drafting, Fashion and Interior Design, Construction, Cosmetology, Welding, and Communications.

The complex houses a combination of 38 classrooms and labs with a capacity to hold 1,320 students at any one time.

The machine shop is now equipped with a computer lab that enables students to utilize their Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) software. The lab will allow students and instructors capabilities that they’ve had before, but with more capacity.

The Automotive Technology department has a top-of-the-line service garage with current industry standard equipment that allows for current industry standard practices.

The most significant upgrade to the 900 Building, besides the new classrooms and computer labs, is the addition of both, air-conditioning and heating, a luxury that Machine Technology Department Coordinator Dan O’Brien is most excited about.

“I can remember some fall semester classes when it was 98 degrees in the classroom with fans blowing and we were trying to teach classes, [that] along with some 40 degree mornings that made it very difficult to do anything in the lab,” said O’Brien.

The biggest hurdle for school officials and C.W. Driver, the company that oversees all the different contracting projects, was the logistics of relocating all the machinery, materials, and supplies from the satellite location in La Habra, to the new home at Fullerton College.

According to O’Brien, a tremendous amount of work had to be done over the summer in order to be ready for the first day of the Fall semester.

“[We] packed all of our equipment at the temporary facility [in La Habra] and set things up here on campus . . . there had to have been over 5000 pounds of stuff,” O’Brien said.

Dean of the Technology and Engineering Division, Scott McKenzie hopes that the new academic buildings will intrigue students to become part of the programs.

“This was unlike any other project the campus has ever seen” said McKenzie. “I’m really impressed with the folks on campus that helped bring this together.”

The beautiful new buildings are sure to garner more attention due to the high traffic area on campus that they are located. Visitors are welcomed but they must have permission from an instructor and are permitted to wear safety goggles at all times.