Oct 08, 2010 4:10 pm

speaker and people on stage for grand opening ceremony
Pierce Puyallup President Patrick Schmitt addresses the crowd at the grand opening ceremony Oct. 1.

It was a grand celebration on Oct. 1 to officially open the new Arts and Allied Health Building on Pierce College Puyallup’s campus. Event emcee and new College President Patrick Schmitt welcomed a large crowd of students, college employees, and community members to the new building, which includes a theater, recital hall, music library, recording studio and practice rooms, art studios, and an expansive lobby.

It is also the new home of Pierce Puyallup’s nursing program and features a fully-equipped nursing skills lab, lifelike (but synthetic and computerized) patients, and medication and observations rooms to provide real-life hospital experiences and state-of-the-art technology.

“This building gives us wings,” Schmitt said. “It enlarges the human spirit. The beauty of the design reflects the beauty of the art and science going on inside.”

Classes began in the Arts and Allied Health Building on Sept. 22.