SHIPROCK, NM (AP) Construction of the new $40 million Dine College campus here has resumed following a two-year hiatus because of funding problems.

Officials first broke ground on the project in June 2000 after a one-year delay. The first phase of construction – roads and underground utilities – was completed in 200, but the campus has resembled nothing more than a dirt field since then.

That is changing now that Okland-Arviso Construction has been awarded a $3.5 million contract to begin work on the second phase – a 17,000 sq. ft. (1573.4 sq m) education building that will house classrooms and offices.

The company has started to set up shop on the site.

"We’re elated. This has been a long time coming," acting dean Thomas Bennett said Friday. "People were saying ’I’ll never see this in my lifetime, maybe my grandchildren will see it.’"

The other four phases necessary to complete the campus are still in the proposal stages, Bennett said, adding they will be built as additional funding becomes available.

"Things change and funding shifts around. Money is very tight. You only have a small pie and it only goes so far," he said.

Money for the project is coming primarily from the state of New Mexico, the Navajo Nation and the American Indian College Fund.

Once completed, the campus will have housing for students and staff, a science building, a vocational center and a cultural heritage center.

The campus will be in the shape of a circle to reflect Navajo philosophy. The main entrance will face east. The center of the campus will be open, filled only with a reflective pool, open lawns and trees.

The current campus is more than 50 years old.

"The number one complaint from the students is the building is run down. I tell them the building may be run down, but the education you get is top quality," Bennett said.

The school prides itself on having small teacher-to-student ratio as well as a teaching staff from prestigious institutions, he said.

The school’s enrollment experienced a significant drop after a 1998 fire destroyed a third of the campus’s classrooms, offices and laboratories. Enrollment now averages between 350 and 400 students.

Bennett said he is hopeful having a new campus would draw more students.

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