BRAWLEY — It seemed the doors would never open. First it was set for completion in January, then February. Now it's March and the San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus in Brawley is complete.

Well, almost.

"Nobody thought it would be finished this quickly and I'm glad to report no one was wrong," said SDSU-IV Dean Khosrow Fatemi during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the nearly complete campus

When ground was broken for construction last summer on the 200-acre plot east of here on Highway 78, Fatemi initially said students would begin attending class at the start of winter term, or Jan. 12. It looks like "after spring break" is the word now.

Although the exterior and interior of the structure is complete, there are a few loose ends to tie up — including paving the parking lot and moving furniture into the classrooms — before students can begin attending class. The campus also lacks landscaping.

Locals who attended Friday's ceremony toured the 10,000 square-foot, seven-classroom Spanish-style building while munching on a smorgasbord of hors d'oeuvres and sipping chardonnay. A computer lab, five faculty/staff offices and a parking lot, with a 150-car capacity complete the campus.

SDSU-IV Brawley campus students have been attending class at Brawley Union High School since the beginning of the school year. Fatemi said the campus should be ready for students in a few weeks, or after spring break.

Local and San Diego-based university officials and state legislators spoke during Friday's ceremony, mainly addressing the importance of bringing higher education to the oft-neglected Northend of the Valley.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, told the audience members sitting in white chairs placed upon the unpaved parking lot in front of the new building that this dream became a reality because of the community.

The interesting thing about this building was that it wasn't built by the state ...," she said. "And thank God because the state still doesn't have it together."

Garcia reiterated what she often tells her audiences.

"No matter what corner of California you live in, education is really the ticket out of poverty," she said.

When Ethan Singer, associate vice president of academic affairs for SDSU, stepped to the podium, he told those assembled that they may be wondering why it was necessary to have three SDSU officials speak and if he had anything new to say. Besides being closely involved in the project, Singer said he was the one responsible for hiring Fatemi and without the dean the building would have never become a reality.

Singer then addressed an issue that has always plagued public education in the Imperial Valley. The No. 1 challenge facing the Brawley campus is filling the one building, he said. To outsiders that may seem a simple objective but the reality is few Valley students move onto higher education or are even eligible for university courses.

Singer said after researching he found out the number of students graduating from high school in the Imperial Valley eligible to attend a California State University is 20 percent.

"That is a very low number," he said. "We need to get more students attending CSUs and if they so choose, this campus and Calexico."

Many of the speeches were directed at Fatemi — who will leave in June to take a position as president of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Ore. — as college officials thanked him for all the time and energy he put forth to complete the project.

Speakers noted that the Brawley campus is a true example of a public/private collaboration. The campus became a concept in 1998 when Fatemi began his tenure at SDSU-IV and noticed that the North County was underserved. In February 1999 the Alamitos Land Co. of Brawley donated the 200 acres where the new building sits.

The building will be named the Sue and William Brandt in honor of the Brawley couple who donated an undisclosed amount of the construction costs. The Brandts requested the amount of their donation remain unknown.

Fatemi also announced donations of more than $1.6 million have made it possible to set up three new scholarships for SDSU-IV. That total will rise to $2 million once the college receives all the pledge money donors have promised. One of the scholarships will be named after the Brandts.