Lamar College announces new instructional building and Fresno State bachelor’s programs in Lemoore

A representative from Lamar College updated the Lemoore City Council on campus expansion plans and new degree offerings during a brief study-session presentation on June 3.

Preston, identified at the meeting as a representative of Lamar College, said the college is building a two‑story Visual Arts and Applied Sciences building scheduled to open in spring 2026. The lower floor will house information-technology programs such as cyber networking and programming and art, while the top floor will be devoted to health‑care programs, including expanded nursing, paramedic/EMT and certified nurse assistant training.

Preston said the new building will allow the college to relocate programs from older facilities and convert those spaces into support services, including enlarging the Golden Eagle Pantry into a full basic‑needs center and providing dedicated space for the Rising Scholars program and a separate military services center.

He told the council that, through a partnership with California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), Lamar College received a federal Title V grant to offer two Fresno State bachelor’s degrees on the Lemoore campus beginning this fall: a bachelor’s in sociology and a bachelor’s in criminology. In addition, Preston announced an integrated teacher‑education bachelor’s program (liberal studies with a multiple‑subject teaching credential) co‑offered by Fresno State and Lamar College, starting fall 2025 as a daytime, cohort‑based program with 21 students in the inaugural cohort.

Lamar College and Fresno State are also in conversation about a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) to serve students who complete an associate degree in nursing locally and prefer to pursue a BSN without leaving the region; those talks target a fall 2026 start date.

Preston said the college conferred more than 2,000 degrees and certificates this year — a college record — with more than 1,000 graduates and over 500 participating in ceremonies. He called the region recognition in the Fresno Bee — a gold award in "best trade and technical school" and a prior award as "best college and university" in the Central Valley — as community wins. The college invited city officials to a likely ribbon cutting in December.

Council members asked about athletics and facilities; Preston said the college recently added women's volleyball and men's basketball, will likely add women's wrestling in the spring, and that baseball, softball and football would require facilities partnerships with the city and budgetary work before they could be considered.

The council thanked Preston for the update and expressed interest in attending future campus events.

(No formal council action was taken; the presentation was informational.)