Kirkwood to close Lincoln Center in Cedar Rapids

Kirkwood Community College will close its Lincoln Center in Cedar Rapids by Dec. 31, 2010 as part of budget cuts. Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich announced the closing this morning during a speech on campus as part of Martin Luther King Day activities.

Kirkwood officials aim to trim about $3.5 million by the end of the next fiscal year, FY 2011, as part of state budget cuts.  Along with closing Lincoln, Kirkwood will offer a special early retirement incentive in the hopes of cutting a few jobs and trimming staff costs; cut a number of positions due to retirements, including on the floral faculty and the executive director of secondary programs; and layoff two positions, one administrator and one coordinator, Starcevich said today. There also will be program reductions on campus, though those remain to be determined, he said.

Kirkwood's Lincoln Center in Cedar Rapids offers adult literacy and education programs, English as a second language, GED programs, high school programs and tutoring.