College to expand as work starts on new block

(CNS): As student numbers at the International College of the Cayman Islands continues to grow space is becoming a premium on campus so the recent ground breaking for the new business block comes just in time. John Cummings, president of ICCI said demand for more business classes was expected to further over the next year, particularly for accounting, finance banking and MBA courses to keep up with the competitive job market. “We have even converted offices into classrooms to fit in more business courses but it is at the point where we have simply run out of classroom space,” he said adding that each year, more students who are juggling work and families are enrolling at the college.

ICCI broke ground on at its campus in Savannah-Newlands on Friday, 19 November. With an estimated completion date of April 2011, the new facility will be named in honour of the International College alumni Carlyle and Martha McLaughlin.
“We chose to name the building after Carlyle and Martha McLaughlin for their generosity over the years in both time and funds as students, alumni and trustees to the International College,” said Cummings. “It is also significant because Carlyle McLaughlin’s career and public service are evidence that it is possible to get a high quality college education in the Cayman Islands. Naming the business building after Carlyle and Martha McLaughlin is our way of thanking them for all they have done and been to the college and the community.”
As the retired senior partner from Ernst & Young and former chairman of Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, McLaughlin credits his bachelors degree in business at the International College in 1976 as the stepping-stone that launched his 25-year career in accounting.
“My wife and I are both proud alumni of the International College as well as one of our daughters so it is a privilege to have the new business building named after my family,” McLaughlin said. “I also want to point out the enormous impact the Cummings family and International College has had on our lives and is the driving reason for our support. Both Martha and I trust that this new building will allow the International College to continue its purpose to educate a new generation of young people in the Cayman Islands.”
The new business building which includes two high tech classrooms that have been sponsored by the Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants and the Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association have each sponsored a classroom. Each will be equipped with a smart board, an interactive tool that combines the power of a computer with the simplicity of a whiteboard.
“Smart board technology is expected to continue to gain a presence in board rooms so it is good tool for both instructors and students to adopt in their class presentations and then use it in the business environment,” Cummings added.
Phoenix Construction was awarded the contract to build the new block which will cost $218,000.