Pinnacle Career Institute will be closing its facility near 23rd and Ousdahl in Lawrence in July.

Lawrence and Douglas County are the capital of higher education in Kansas, as evidenced by the presence of three universities, a campanile and several houses that make the bell tower sound like a quiet library. There is news, though, that Lawrence is losing one provider of higher education.

Pinnacle Career Institute has announced that it will close its Lawrence facility in July. Pinnacle is located in the Southern Hills Shopping Center at 23rd and Ousdahl. I reported yesterday how the owners of the center have filed plans to convert some of its space into a storage facility. Well, much of that space is where Pinnacle is currently located.

Rebecca Clothier, executive director of the Lawrence branch of Pinnacle, said the ownership of the educational company decided that it no longer made sense to locate two campuses in the Kansas City area and one in Lawrence. The Lawrence facility will close in July after current students finish their classwork.

“It is sad for us,” Clothier said. “I have been at this campus for quite awhile. Times are changing though with online education and flex education.”

Clothier said the Lawrence campus has about 100 students at any given time. According to its website, Pinnacle offers a variety of programs in medical, health and fitness, alternative energy and construction trades.

The pending closure will end a long history the company has had in Lawrence. The company has operated under the Pinnacle name since 2001, Clothier said. But previously the company operated in Lawrence as CTBI, which I think had been in operation in Lawrence since the 1980s.