Photo provided by Ivy Tech Community College - Columbus Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann greets students as they arrive at Moravec Hall in Columbus for the first day of classes.
The first fall semester of classes at Ivy Tech Community College – Columbus’ new Moravec Hall began on Monday, with Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann visiting campus to mark the occasion.
Ellspermann and the statewide Ivy Tech leadership team were on site to welcome students for their first day of classes, said Director of Marketing Chris Schilling.
“At Ivy Tech, the goal isn’t graduation day, it’s a better every day after,” Ellspermann said. “As we welcome this year’s incoming students, I look forward to seeing how their journey at Ivy Tech will better equip them for a high-wage, high-demand job that translates into long-term success and economic prosperity for our state.”
While the college began holding a select number of classes in Moravec Hall in late May, Schilling said Monday marks the start of the first full term in which students will start their classes in the new building.
The approximately $32 million, 80,000-square-foot structure has replaced the aging Poling Hall.
Ivy Tech selected IwamotoScott Architecture of San Francisco in February 2020 to design the new campus building. A grant from the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program covered the architectural design fee.
The college celebrated the building’s groundbreaking ceremony in April of 2021 through the release of a pre-recorded video. Ellspermann was among those who spoke in the video and took part in the traditional groundbreaking. It was later announced that the new building would be named Moravec Hall after local entrepreneur, Ivy Tech donor and former state trustee Tony Moravec.
Ivy Tech moved into Moravec Hall in the summer of 2022, and demolition of Poling began in June. Ivy Tech officials recently shared a time-lapse video on Facebook that shows the process of construction and demolition from spring of 2021 to summer of 2022.
Additionally, the college plans to hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Moravec Hall at 4 p.m. Oct. 5. School officials have said that special guests will include college officials from across Ivy Tech’s statewide network. They also hope that Gov. Eric Holcomb and Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery will attend.
