DOWNTOWN : UCLA Extension Opens at New Site
The UCLA Extension program, a fixture Downtown for 75 years, begins its spring quarter classes Saturday in new facilities at the World Trade Center.
The 33,000-square-foot facility on two levels of the World Trade Center, 350 S. Figueroa St., can accommodate 10,000 continuing higher-education students. Among the amenities are a 15-station computer lab, VCRs and ceiling-mounted televisions in each of the 18 classrooms.
The extension’s American Language Center, which provides English classes to more than 2,000 foreign students and business professionals annually, is also at the center.
The Los Angeles branch of the extension program, which enrolls more than 110,000 adults annually at sites throughout Los Angeles County, began downtown.
Although the Los Angeles location provides the usual array of classes in the arts, sciences, humanities and education, the extension is known for its business and management courses, which reflect the needs of downtown business professionals.
The extension also plans to use the World Trade Center as an outreach center to provide educational programs for the area’s growing multicultural population, officials said.
“I like to think our presence here is an affirmation of the vitality of Los Angeles,” said Robert Lapiner, dean of continuing education and UCLA Extension.
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