BATAVIA TWP. — In their new classroom at the University of Cincinnati's Clermont College, Pamela Baum's surgical technology students examined tools of their chosen profession.

        Some, handed down from operating rooms on the main campus, obviously were bent or broken castoffs.

        Other equipment was as new as the two-year allied health program preparing them to work in operating rooms at the side of surgeons.

        Last week, however, all five were almost giddy as they and Ms. Baum, a registered nurse with operating room specialization, unpacked equipment in their new lab.

        “We're making history,” said Teresa Masters, 36, of Mount Orab, Ohio. “Someday we'll be the old photo on the wall.”

        This week donors, faculty, administrators and students will celebrate a $11.4 million campus expansion that included creation of the surgical technology lab in the original campus building.

        And while it's a big deal for Clermont College, the new facilities and allied health programs are life-changing for Mrs. Masters and her classmates.

        Melynda Kullgren, 24, of Milford transferred from another two-year school because the Clermont program was more attractive and closer to home.

        Ashlie Cramer, 19, of Bethel abandoned plans to go to UC's College of Education because an education degree now takes five years and chose to follow her parents into a medical field close to home.

        Joe Freson, 20, of Fayetteville, Ohio, picked Ms. Baum's program because “It gives me plenty of opportunity to learn” and might lead him to premed and medical school.

        Laura Neuhausel, 24, of Milford is a patient transporter at Bethesda North Hospital and decided on an operating room career after watching three surgeries.

        “I liked it,” she said.

        The branch campus opened in 1972 on a hill above Batavia just off Ohio 32. The campus had 62 acres and 281 students.

        Today, it's nearly 92 acres and 2,400 students paying under $2,950 full-time annual tuition.

        The expansion involves two new buildings — primarily labs and a one-stop student services center — plus extensive remodeling of some older facilities to accommodate such programs as surgical technology.

        New facilities increase classroom space by 50 percent, computer laboratories by 75 percent and faculty office space by 65 percent.

        Some of the changes are as simple as a new stove in the biology prep room or as important as the new greenhouse with its temperature-controlled vents and special lighting.

        Coincidentally, Clermont College is reducing tuition 5 percent as part of a statewide policy by the Ohio Board of Regents to make such “access” campuses more accessible.

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