Spencerian College formally dedicated its new Dupont Circle campus Friday, firmly placing the school’s College of Applied Health and College of Nursing in the second largest medical complex outside of downtown Louisville.

Students started taking classes in early January at the 44,000-square foot campus, which is located at 4000 Dupont Circle in St. Matthews near the intersection of Breckenridge Lane and The Waterson Expressway (I-264). A group of Spencerian College administrators, faculty, students and staff joined local and state government leaders in the ribbon-cutting dedication.

“This is an historic day for Spencerian College, which has roots going back more than 125 years,” said Spencerian College Executive Director Jan Gordon. “We all worked so hard to prepare the new Dupont Circle campus for our students, faculty and staff, and are very proud of how the renovation has turned out.

“Moving to a new campus location provides tremendous access to major employers in Louisville’s healthcare industry and will provide the opportunity for more collaborative, interprofessional education and career opportunities for our current and future students,” Gordon said.

State and local officials participated in the dedication ceremonies.

On behalf of the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, I want to congratulate Spencerian College on the dedication of its news Dupont Circle location,” said Labor Cabinet Deputy Secretary Mike Nemes. “Kentucky is facing a shortage of skilled workers in the healthcare sector and I thank Spencerian College for its dedication to providing more health career and education opportunities in this region.”

St. Matthews Mayor Rick Tonini said when he was a child he and his friends would play in the farm fields that were once located on what is now Dupont Circle. He also said when the former owner of the building Spencerian is now occupying owned the property, the city’s police and fire departments used it for training. But for some time, it has mostly sat vacant.

So I’m thrilled with a capital ‘T’ that this building is coming back and will be used by Spencerian College to teach students professional skills and how to perform medical procedures, and life-saving acts,” Mayor Tonini said. “The Dupont Circle area has become a major medical community for the entire region and it’s great that people who attend and graduate from Spencerian may be able to go to work right across the street at some of the health care providers that are right there.”

The Dupont location is not only centrally located, but is just two miles from the main campus of Sullivan University. Sullivan and Spencerian – along with the Sullivan College of Technology and Design – are all part of the Sullivan University System, Inc., and all three are seeking to merge later this year into the singular Sullivan University, pending approval from accreditors and state and federal regulators.

“This project was launched to provide a new and completely modern campus for Spencerian College,” said Glenn Sullivan, President of the Sullivan University System.”Renovation of the existing building encompassed every system of the building.”

“About the only things we left in place were the exterior walls, the elevators, the stairwells, the main restrooms and the exterior doors on the first floor,” President Sullivan said. “We incorporated design ideas from faculty as well as our interior designers and architect.”

The renovations provided additional resources for students and faculty which include mock operating rooms, patient-simulation labs, a respiratory therapy lab, MLT lab, two energized radiology labs, science lab, phlebotomy lab and massage therapy lab equipped with new modern equipment.

Recent acquisitions by Kentucky One Health and Norton Healthcare will add to the medical facilities, career opportunities, training programs, professional skills and services available to Spencerian students in the new location.

“This move places our students in a vibrant and growing medical area, that will enhance their work skills, on the job training and career opportunities,” Gordon said. “We specialize in hands-on training, and we have invested in state-of-the-art labs to provide our students with real-world medical training.”