Ribbon cut on NSCC satellite campus

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It won’t be long before the Van Wert satellite campus of Northwest State Community College is open.

NSCC officials, elected officials and other local dignitaries gathered Tuesday morning for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the E. Sycamore St. campus. Classes are expected to begin there in early 2026.

Before cutting the ribbon, NSCC President Dr. Todd Hernandez noted it’s an exciting time for the college and its newest location, which will be a full-service campus. He also credited NSCC Board of Trustees member Scott Mull of Van Wert, who, several years ago questioned how the Archbold-based college could do more for Van Wert County and the surrounding area.

“I took that as a personal challenge,” Hernandez said. “The Board of Trustees invested in this and we have over $7 million of Northwest State funds in this building already. There are so many people who came together to make this happen.”

“I’m just so excited for this new beginning and what Northwest State will be able to offer Van Wert and for what Van Wert is going to offer Northwest State – I think it’s going to be an amazing collaboration,” Mull told those in attendance. “Trust me when I say Van Wert is in great hands with Northwest State having this campus here. The staff, the faculty, everyone who has made this happen is first class and I’m beyond proud standing alongside them.”

“I think this fits in beautifully with everything that is going on downtown and on Main St. and all the opportunities that Van Wert and the surrounding counties have to offer,” Mull added.

Proclamations were presented by Ohio Representative Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) and on behalf of Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon).

Van Wert Campus Dean Dr. Jon Tomlinson led those in attendance on a tour of the structure and explained plans and features, including “HyFlex” classrooms.

“It’s a digital technology that allows live lectures regardless of student location,” he explained. “In theory, a faculty member could be standing in the classroom in Van Wert and have students viewing and participating in his or her live lecture anywhere, even at our Archbold campus or at their home if needed. The big push at Northwest State is to increase access to educational services and technology allows us to do a lot of that now.”

The first floor of the building houses an atrium/welcome area with a large skylight, a small bookstore, two conference rooms, various administrative offices and the workforce development lab, plus a computer lab that will also be used for eSports. Classrooms are housed on the second floor.

NSCC currently has four classes running locally at space provided by OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital and Tomlinson said the goal is to transition those classes to the new campus sometime after the new year.

“We have a full slate of classes,” Tomlinson stated. “Students right now can apply and register and start in any one of the programs – we call them Phase I of our programs – and those include electrical engineering, industrial technology, maintanence, cybersecurity, computer science and a number of business programs, including accounting, marketing, finance, management, and entrepreneurship.

Hernandez said the campus still has 35,000 square feet of space that will eventually become Phase II of the building project.

“We want to work with the community to find out what programs they want and need,” he said. “We’re going to talk to employers, we’re going to talk to business owners, we’re going to talk to commissioners, we’re going to talk to parents (and ask) ‘what do you need?’ and rise to the challenge.”

The satellite campus is housed in the former Kennedy Manufacturing building on E. Sycamore St. The 50,000 square foot structure had been vacant for approximately 15 years when it was purchased by NSCC in early 2022, at a cost of nearly $500,000.