SLCC Officially Opens the Westpointe Workforce Training & Education Center

Utah lawmakers, along with industry, business and education leaders, received their first glimpse of Salt Lake Community College’s new 121,000-square-foot WestpointeWorkforce Training & Education Center during a grand opening celebration held on Wednesday.

Strategically located in Salt Lake City’s industrial northwest quadrant, Westpointe is integral to the Wasatch Front’s long-term economic vitality. The unique facility is designed to provide education and training in key industries that are critical to the region’s economic success, including welding, machining, diesel systems technology, injection molding, composites manufacturing, commercial driving and other high-demand fields. The center houses 8 classrooms, 34 lab spaces and a 3-acre lot for commercial truck driving, along with more than 100 welding bays, a large diesel maintenance facility and an injection molding lab.

Westpointe also allows SLCC to fulfill its mission as Salt Lake County’s primary post-secondary provider of workforce education and will serve a significant portion of SLCC’s 28,000 students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses each year.

“At Westpointe, students will receive hands-on education and experience in a number of important trades. The campus will be a boon to students and to our region by allowing us to maintain our economic prosperity through the development of a top-notch workforce,” says Dr. Deneece Huftalin, president of SLCC.

Besides serving as a one-of-a-kind, one-stop educational center, Westpointe provides space for collaboration with industry partners, allowing students the opportunity to interface with Utah’s leading companies in the industrial trades. Many of these companies have partnered with SLCC and have generously supported the ongoing operations for the center.

College Celebrates 70 Years of Serving Students

Salt Lake Community College opened its doors near downtown Salt Lake City to 175 students on September 14, 1948. Then known as Salt Lake Area Vocational School, it had 14 courses of study and 23 faculty members. Many of the programs were designed to educate and train World War II veterans, who at that time made up the majority of the student population.

In 1959 the school was renamed Salt Lake Trade Technical Institute, and plans were made to develop a new campus at 4600 S. Redwood Road in order to accommodate the growing student population. The new campus was designed to have buildings that were dedicated to each of the school’s programs, and as these buildings sprang up over the next decade, the school came to be known as Utah Technical College at Salt Lake.

For the next 20 years the college experienced one of the most rapid expansions in programs, locations, students and services in American educational history. By 1987, the school was renamed Salt Lake Community College, recognizing its transformation into a comprehensive two-year college that prepares students to move on to a four-year institution or trains them to enter the workforce.

Salt Lake Community College now has 11 campuses and locations and is an accredited, student-focused, comprehensive college that meets the diverse needs of the Salt Lake Valley. With more than 140 areas of study and home to more than 60,000 students each year, the college is Utah’s number one provider of workforce development programs and the largest supplier of transfer students to Utah’s four-year institutions. SLCC is also a Top 10 college nationally for total associate degrees awarded, and it is the leading provider of applied technology courses in the Salt Lake area.

SLCC celebrates 70 years of being your community college. To learn more about the school’s history, check out this comprehensive timeline.

King Princess, Flora Cash Close Out Popular Twilight Series

King Princess takes the stage.

King Princess and Flora Cash performed for thousands of loyal fans on the final night of the Salt Lake Community College Twilight Concert Series. About 28,000 people attended five Thursday-night concerts at the Gallivan Center for a series that featured sold out shows for Diplo and DJ Snoopadelic, aka Snoop Dogg.

SLCC was this year's title sponsor of what has become one of the longest-running and most revered public arts programs in Salt Lake City. Over the last 30 years, the Thursday night summer concert series has presented renowned artists in a variety of genres, including indie-rock, hip-hop, reggae and blues. SLCC worked this year alongside Broadway Media and the Salt Lake City Arts Council to create a lineup worthy of the Twilight name. Below are highlights from the final 2018 show.

Local group EIXO warms up the crowd.

Let’s Do the Time-Warp Again! Cult Classic “The Rocky Horror Show” Comes to The Grand Theater

The Grand Theatre, sponsored by Salt Lake Community College, is proud to present Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, running October 4 – 27, 2018.

As a humorous tribute to classic science fiction and B-horror films, The Rocky Horror Show centers around squeaky clean couple, Brad and Janet. The pair innocently sets out to see an old professor, but car trouble forces them to seek help at the castle of the alien-transvestite scientist, Dr. Frank N. Furter. As they get mixed up in the night’s misadventures, they begin to question everything they know. Filled with over-the-top characters, outrageous plot twists and an unforgettable rock score, this show is unlike any other.

The Grand will have prop bags available for purchase and asks that patrons refrain from bringing their own props.

In addition, on the show’s opening night The Grand will have an American Sign Language interpreter to sign the performance. Those in need of an interpreter can reserve seats by contacting Breezy Bassett at 801-957-3033 or Breanna.Bassett@slcc.edu. 

“The Rocky Horror Show” is under the direction of Anne Stewart Mark, with musical direction by Dave Evanoff. Performances will take place Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are $17 - $23 and can be purchased at 801-957-3322 or www.GrandTheatreCompany.com. As always, junior high and high school students receive one free ticket with their school ID.

The Rocky Horror Show is rated PG-13 for adult themes and strong language.