Verde Valley News – With the snip of a ceremonial ribbon, Yavapai College opened a new chapter on education in Northern Arizona, adding sound, video and the latest digital innovations to the pursuit of higher learning. Yavapai College took education into multiple dimensions on Tuesday, with the opening of its new Center for Learning & Innovation on the Verde Valley Campus.
“The design and technology featured in this new state-of-the-art center is going to provide a modernized learning environment for our students.” Yavapai College President Dr. Lisa Rhine said. “It’s going to provide them an opportunity to learn and use the latest media and technology and adaptive learning spaces, while still providing the resources of a traditional library.”
Located in Building M of Yavapai College’s Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale, the Center for Learning & Innovation (CLIV) blends community and technology, offering students the tools to learn in a variety of traditional and innovative methods.
The new, 11,000 sqft., state-of-the-art facility includes space for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted tutoring platforms and interactive learning experiences to provide students with personalized support. The center also features experimental classrooms and immersive learning labs; media production rooms to accommodate podcasting and video production; a fast-capture studio, and dedicated spaces for faculty and students to use advanced technologies in the exploration and development of virtual reality and augmented reality-based learning tools.
These learning innovations are spread across a scenic, open floorplan that accommodates all the traditional library services like tutoring, collaborative work, quiet study, and check-out of books, videos and other tactile learning materials. The Library will continue to provide in-person and asynchronous “recorded” library instruction, expand no-cost Open Educational Resources (OER) and checkout for equipment such as laptops, hotspots, lab kits, digital filmmaking, virtual reality headsets and other learning technologies.
The Center for Learning and Innovation was designed by SmithGroup, following a master plan developed after extensive county input. The new design reflects a growing trend among colleges across the country to integrate traditional library services with emerging learning technologies and incorporate both into a Library/Learning Commons format. Hayley Construction broke ground on the renovation in May of 2023. The new Center for Learning & Innovation replaces the campus’s prior Verde Library, Learning Center and Disability Resource spaces. The Center for Learning & Innovation mirrors, in direction and philosophy, the ongoing Prescott Campus library renovation, which will be complete in the Spring of 2026.
Dr. Rhine said the new Center demonstrates the College’s commitment to providing the highest quality instruction. “Institutions that are not afraid to see things differently, take risks and find innovative solutions will continue to thrive in this rapidly changing environment.” She said. “Yavapai College is that institution. And I couldn’t be prouder of our capacity to be agile, responsible and willing to do what is best for our students.”
The Center for Learning & Innovation is located in Building M on Yavapai College’s Verde Valley Campus, 601 W. Black Hills Road, in Clarkdale. The Center is open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Fridays, beginning August 19. For further information on the Center for Learning & Innovation, please call (928) 634-6541 or visit: www.yc.edu/library