Bainbridge State College will officially announce Thursday that it has received $3 million in state funding for an expansion of River Birch Hall.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is scheduled to be a special guest of BSC and state Sen. Dr. Dean Burke on Thursday, during a reception to celebrate the announcement. The reception will be held at 6 p.m. in the BSC Kirbo Center’s solarium.

“This is our way of thanking Sen. Burke and all of the members of our legislative delegation in their hard work in helping to secure these state funds, as well as thank them for their continuing support for Bainbridge State College,” BSC President Dr. Richard Carvajal said.

Carvajal said that the expansion will include more than 10,000-square-foot of additional floor space. The addition will include new classrooms and faculty offices.

He said that the classrooms will be used by multiple disciplines, but primarily the health sciences programs, including nursing and phlebotomy, among others.

Construction could begin in late 2013, and will likely take about a year to complete, Carvajal said. He said that two existing classrooms in the building might have to temporarily close when the construction gets underway, but otherwise classes will be able to continue as normal.

The $3 million in state funding for River Birch Hall, also known as the 800 Building, is another step in the institution’s transition from a community college to a state college. The BSC library is currently undergoing an expansion, and concept design work for a $17 million, 60,000-square-foot academic building has already been completed.