University Center at LTCC ready to break ground in Spring of 2017

Long the dream of many in South Lake Tahoe, a four-year educational opportunity is on target to break ground in the spring of 2017 on the grounds of Lake Tahoe Community College. The Lisa and Robert Maloff University Center will then be built and open in the fall of 2018.

During years of surveying the community and engaging in a visioning process, Lake Tahoe Community College officials saw overwhelming support for a four-year college in South Lake Tahoe. Funding for one was included in the general obligation bond language to remodel a portion of the existing campus to become a small university center. In the fall of 2014 Nevada resident Lisa Maloff began a process to donate $5 million to construct a stand-alone university center. Later, she raised the donation to $5.8 million.

During the LTCC Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, February 9, there will be a presentation on the current status of the project and discussion on which universities may be the best fit for the campus and community.

In order to ensure four-year educational opportunities are available when the Center opens, a college committee has been formed to review and propose programs and universities that are appropriate for South Lake Tahoe and LTCC. They are gathering data, as well as reaching out to, and visiting colleges. In the fall of 2015, LTCC staff submitted a proposal to the University of California, Davis (UCD) in response to their call for Envisioning the University of the 21st Century.

Besides UCD, some of the other universities and colleges on the committee's list include:

California State University, Sacramento
California State University, Chico
California State University, Humboldt
Sierra Nevada College
University of Nevada, Reno

During the same time, a group of El Dorado County citizens have started meeting and planning to attract a four-year university to the county, most likely the west slope. Dr. Murillo and LTCC have offered to work together with the "EDC Citizens for a University" but will continue to investigate their own options for the Maloof Center.