e-Communiqué

August/September 2006

Published exclusively for members of ACCED-I

Lane Community College is located in Eugene, OR, the hub of Oregon's third largest metropolitan area and home to the University of Oregon. Eugene is touted as the "World’s Greatest City of the Arts and Outdoors” for its abundance of arts and culture, passion for sports and recreation.

For 40 years, Lane has been "transforming lives through learning." Lane's current mission is to be a learning-centered community college that provides affordable, quality, lifelong educational opportunities that include: professional technical and lower division college transfer programs; employee skill upgrading, business development and career enhancement; foundational academic, language and life skills development; lifelong personal development and enrichment; and cultural and community services .

In 1995, the generous and visionary voters of Lane County passed a bond measure, which among other improvements to the college, provided for a state of the art meeting facility and a home for the thriving Culinary Arts and Hospitality programs. In the fall of 2002, the Center for Meeting and Learning opened its doors as Lane’s new conference facility for college and community-wide events. At the same time, the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Program moved into its brand new quarters in the same building. From the start, it was the mission of the Center for Meeting and Learning and the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Program to work together to put “students at the heart of what we do.” The professional catering staff provides all of the food served during events at the Center and to meetings across campus, at times with assistance from the students. The curriculum for the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Program was revamped to include lab courses in the Center for Meeting and Learning. Catering lab classes were designed to afford students learning opportunities through their participation in catering at certain special events in the Center. At the same time, a hospitality management lab was created for students to learn about and gain work experience in conference operations. The Center for Meeting and Learning staff is instrumental in creating a range of learning experiences for students and guiding their work. As the tourism, hospitality and culinary cuisine industries continue to grow in Oregon, the Center for Meeting and Learning is an ideal way to forge a first-class venture of education and business that promotes career growth and regional industry success.

The Center for Meeting and Learning is in the Conference and Culinary Services Division (CCS) of Lane Community College. There are two other branches to the CCS which include Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management and Campus Food Services (the student/staff cafeteria).

Each year an average of 350 events are held at the Center for Meeting and Learning servicing approximately 5000 customers. The Center is a one-stop shop for all client needs besides guest rooms. They have nearby lodging partners that are recommended for overnight accommodations.

The facility offerings at the 35,000 sq. ft. Center for Meeting and Learning include:

• Lobby and four alcoves great for receptions, registrations, vendor fairs and silent auctions.
  
• One large event room (6,900 sq. ft.) that can be divided into three separate rooms, with a distributive sound system, built-in screens, and four ceiling mounted LCD projectors which can simultaneously project images.
  
• Nine breakout rooms that each hold up to 40-60 people theatre style with whiteboards and built-in screens.
  
• One state-of-the-art 65-seat Auditorium which features tiered seating with internet ports and office chairs. Also a great room for performances on stage and films on the large built-in screen. This room also features a distributive sound system and ceiling mounted LCD projector.
  
• Auditorium Lobby which is spacious and features the David Joyce Art Gallery. Great space for receptions and buffets for meetings in rooms nearby.
  
• One computer training lab with 21 networked stations per classroom.
  
• One demonstration kitchen classroom available for rent to groups doing recipe testing, food demonstrations and competitions. Kitchen happenings can be simultaneously projected into our large event room.
  
• Outdoor Space: Just outside the Center for Meeting and Learning is a 5,000 sq. ft. grassy space ideal for BBQ’s and picnics. In addition, there is an open 20,000 sq. ft. grassy area in the middle of campus that can be used for catered events.
  
• Any available Lane Community College classroom may also be rented out if a group needs additional breakout meeting rooms.

Staff is comprised of four full-time and three part-time employees and an average of 30 students each term through work study, student worker or lab class capacity.

Services offered by the Center for Meeting and Learning include event registration, decoration assistance, on-site audiovisual specialist, satellite video conferencing capabilities, video taping, proctoring, public safety, childcare, student musicians and full-service catering.

Six key attributes set the Center for Meeting and Learning apart from the competition.

• Event Space like No Other in the county or region.
• Educational Edge with profits going to the College, student integration and campus resources at our fingertips.
• Unmatched Customer Service with our guest satisfaction scores in regards to service rising to the top.
• Green, Naturally with sustainability always on our mind and reflected in our practices.
• Choice Cuisine made by professionally trained chefs with the freshest ingredients.
• Tech Savvy not only because of the inventory of the latest and greatest equipment, but because of the on-site specialist here for every technological need.

For further information on The Center for Meeting and Learning, visit www.lanecc.edu/cml or contact Amanda Poston, Coordinator of Conference Services at PostonA@lanecc.edu.