Rose State College will teach its inaugural classes in a new 44,000 square foot Health Sciences Center for the 2010 spring semester which begins Jan. 19. The building will house more than 400 students pursuing degrees in health-related fields such as nursing, radiologic technology, health information technology, respiratory therapy, clinical laboratory technology and more.

As well as offices and classrooms, the building contains clinical areas that allow students to see and experience techniques and equipment they will be using as health care professionals.

“Right now, it’s a state of the art facility,” Ben Fenwick, spokesman for Rose State College, said. “It will update our ability to deliver health care professionals to the community.”

Fenwick said the benefits of the building, which was made possible by the 2005 Oklahoma Higher Education Capitol Bond Issue, go beyond Rose State.

“We could be 3,000 nurses short by 2015,” Fenwick said. “The facility is not just valuable to us as a school, but to all of central Oklahoma.”

The new facility was designed by The Benham Companies of Oklahoma City and constructed by Atlas General Contractors of Bixby. The building’s grand opening will take place January 21.