Bricks add more than structure to COCC expansion

Published 9:10 am Tuesday, July 1, 2025

On a newly poured concrete slab just east of downtown, a unique opportunity awaits. But time is running out.

The outdoor space that joins the two structures of Central Oregon Community College’s Madras campus project — bridging the original 2011 campus building with its 2025 addition, now under construction — will soon feature a surface of engraved bricks with personalized messages and donor names.

For a $100 donation to the ongoing construction project, contributors can have their legacy brick be a permanent part of the college.

“There are a lot of ‘in honor of’ messages, bricks for family members, family names, inspiring words for students,” explained Sofia Stranieri, capital campaign coordinator, who oversees the orders. Close to 50 bricks have already been purchased. They’ll be set in place at summer’s end, said Ryan Dixon, COCC’s Madras campus project manager.

“We’re currently targeting late August through September for installing the courtyard pavers, including the first round of engraved bricks. That timeline lines up with our final exterior work and helps ensure the courtyard is complete ahead of inspections and building sign-off.”

Brick buyers should place their orders by late September to be included in the first wave, by visiting cocc.edu/growingtogether. Dixon added that the team can carefully remove and replace pavers to accommodate the addition of future bricks.

Progress on the 24,000-square-foot building is right on schedule. The roofing system is now the focus, making the structure weather-tight for interior work.

“That allows us to shift more attention indoors, and we’ve already started that work in parallel,” Dixon added, who says construction will be completed by this December. The building is set to open for COCC’s winter term, which begins Jan. 5, 2026. “That timeline provides us with the necessary runway for
setup, training and move-in before students arrive,” Dixon said.

The structure will house four standalone education programs: nursing, nursing assistant, medical assisting and early childhood education. An on-site child care facility for students with families and the greater community will be managed by The Children's Learning Center of Madras.

The nursing program, which already has a full cohort of eight students enrolled to attend in Madras, will actually begin the school year in the original building and shift to the new facility upon its completion. That will allow the cohort to sync up with its Bend campus counterpart.

“We did not want to delay the Madras cohort, so we are starting in the fall in the community room of the existing Madras campus building which will be a modified half-theory class and half-skills lab with all the same equipment as our Bend skills lab,” explained Carmen Ingulli, chair of the college’s nursing department.

The expansion project suffered a setback in March when a continuing resolution funding bill passed by Congress resulted in the loss of $3 million in federal funding. The sudden shortfall forced the college to rely more on reserve funds to keep the project on track, and redouble fundraising efforts. Recent investment includes a $509,200 grant from the Oregon Business Development Department, with dollars designated for the onsite child care portion of the building, to be run by the Children’s Learning Center.

“We are just starting to recruit for the new site,” said Teresa Martin, executive director of The Children’s Learning Center. “We will be working on getting an enrollment campaign going within the next month.”

Some of the work taking place at the campus is less about construction or enrollment and more about sheer inspiration. A call for artists in February for a commissioned outdoor sculpture led to many proposals. On June 25, a college-and-community art acquisition committee announced that Ken McCall’s
shiny 14-foot-high steel-and-aluminum yarrow plant concept, titled “High Desert Healer,” was the winning submission. It will be “planted” adjacent to the brick patio later this year.

“It was amazing and a little overwhelming to see 36 excellent applicants and then realize we had to narrow it down to a few,” said Madras artist Sharon Miller, who served on the committee. “I am looking forward to seeing the completed project.”

More than a decade in the planning, the update to the Madras campus builds more interest as it keeps taking shape. “In my conversations with community members, there’s been a strong sense of excitement around the expansion,” said James Rodriguez, director of the Madras campus. Brick by brick,
that excitement grows.

Mark Russell Johnson is a Staff Writer, Marketing and Public Relations professional for Central Oregon Community College.