By: Betsy Carreno
Dominican is expanding its doors to Pilsen by adding a new campus that is expected to open in Fall 2024.
The building, La Casa, is built with a 100-bedroom facility for dorm students. While current River Forest students will not be able to transfer to the building immediately, current students can still participate in visiting the new space.
By workshopping this idea over the years and with the support of President Glena Temple and The Resurrection Project, this plan finally came to life.
For future students, there will be a different application with a similar process, where students will indicate if they are interested in being a part of the Pilsen campus. One of the most exciting features of this new campus is the way classes will be explored.
Dr. Barrington Price, vice president of Student Success and Engagement said, “Some of the classes we plan on hosting [are] in the community, at other organizations, [and] at other businesses, because sort of the root of this is also to use the city as the classroom.”
The new Chicago campus will offer four different programs, which includes a Cyber Security program, a Certified Nursing assistant program, a Translation and Interpretation program, and a Legal Studies program with a concentration in immigration.
New faculty members including adjunct instructors will be teaching on campus.
Dr. Price discussed what he is most excited about for the opening of the new campus.
“I am excited about the students who will come,” Dr. Price said. “I am excited about coming into this community and coming along side so many wonderful organizations that are doing really good work.”
Dr. Price also explained why Pilsen has plenty of opportunities for students to explore and how its history means something important to Dominican.
“Pilsen historically has been a cultural hub for lots of different communities,” said Dr. Price. “When you have the opportunity to go and value that from an institutional standpoint, [and] from a learning standpoint, you can learn about emerging yourself in a community that is rich in history and resonates with who our students are. You can jump at the opportunity to do that.”
It is definite that this new expansion is something everyone is excited about.
