LOS ANGELES–The Los Angeles Community College District’s East Los Angeles College South Gate Education Center (SGEC) has received an important status upgrade from the California Community Colleges Board of Governors with state approval as an official “education center.”

The formal action March 22, 2021 by the Board of Governors means the SGEC, operated for 23 years by East Los Angeles College (ELAC), moves from being an outreach center to a full education center. The change was part of a multi-step process that included a Letter of Intent and a comprehensive needs assessment for enrollment projections and environmental impacts.

The state approval now allows the Los Angeles Community College District’s (LACCD) ELAC SGEC to expand its reach and impact corresponding with a $65 million, state-of-the-art campus upgrade and a data-driven approach for creating new programs that meet the needs of the local economy and students’success.

“Our new education center is another step in the process of transforming ELAC’s South Gate satellite campus into a center for educational impact for the communities of South East Los Angeles,”LACCD Board of Trustees President Steven F. Veres said. “Our District’s vision includes providing high quality, accessible, educational opportunities across the greater Los Angeles County area and this campus is helping to achieve that for all South Gate residents.”

LACCD Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez, Ph.D., said he is “tremendously proud of all the staff who helped bring the ELAC South Gate campus to center status. Earning this education-center status opens more doors and creates more opportunities for our students. This validates our vision of providing equitable and supportive learning environments at our nine colleges.”

Chancellor Rodriguez added that the District is deeply committed to improving equity in education and the added value as a state-approved education center means the SGEC can help deliver on this promise by unlocking more pathways to fulfill students’career and higher education goals.

The $65 million South Gate Educational Center project site covers about 18.5 acres. The project includes a three-story, 105,000-square-foot, LEED-certified building with a modern, multimedia library, 28 classrooms, offices, lecture hall and four lab spaces for use in career technology education, liberal arts and science programs. There will be drought-efficient landscaping and more than 10,000 square feet of permeable pavers to create inviting public spaces for students to gather and study. The campus will offer nearby access to public transit and priority parking for low-emitting and electric vehicles, further advancing the District’s core value of environmental stewardship. The District officially broke ground on the project March 22, 2019 and estimated completion is for 2023. ELAC opened the current single-story campus next to the new site in 1997. The project is funded by taxpayer approved bonds.

"This campus has provided educational opportunities for the South Gate community for decades and I am happy to see them receive this new educational center status,”California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, 63rd District, (D-Lakewood), said. “Community college had a transformative effect on my life, and the lives of countless Californians. This new campus will help ensure future generations have access to higher education and professional training.”