 An artist's rendering depicts PCC's future Herman Simon Building, which will be a major new addition to the college's health sciences facility when it is completed in 2010. Raising funds for construction of the Simon Building is the main purpose of the PCC Foundation's Futures First Capital Campaign, which launched in February. |
WINTERVILLE�Pitt Community College administrators recently announced that Greenville�s JKF Architecture had been awarded the contract to build an addition to the school�s health sciences facility. At a cost of $6.5 million, PCC is adding 34,000 square feet to the current home of its allied health programs, the William Fulford Building, in order to meet rising demand for health care training. To pay for construction of the health sciences addition, which will be named in honor of ardent PCC supporter Herman Simon, the PCC Foundation launched an $8 million capital campaign in February. Called Futures First, it is the first such endeavor in the college�s 47-year history. Last week, PCC Foundation officials reported that Futures First had met 78 percent of its fundraising objective through various gifts and grants. Approximately $5.8 million of that total was raised before the campaign was publicly announced, the officials said. Spearheading the public phase of Futures First is a committee comprised of community leaders and PCC staff. Co-chairing the group are current PCC Trustee Walter Williams and former Trustee Diane Murphrey. �You can go through life coasting or floating along, or you can be aggressive,� Williams said of the campaign. �If the leadership and citizens of Pitt County want Pitt Community College to be on the cutting edge, then we need to move forward, and the capital campaign is just part of moving forward.� Committee members are making personal phone calls and visits to generate support for Futures First. Several members are also hosting receptions throughout Pitt County to provide information about the fundraising endeavor, and PCC Foundation representatives say there are numerous naming opportunities available within the Simon Building and throughout campus. Williams, who called PCC an investment in the area�s future, encouraged members of the community to contribute to the college�s capital campaign. �If you believe in Pitt Community College and its mission,� he said, �then why not step on board and make a contribution at whatever level you feel led to?� In announcing that JKF Architecture had been awarded the construction contract for the Simon Building, PCC administrators said groundbreaking for the facility would take place in August. When it is completed in January 2010, the two-story building will provide classrooms, labs and offices for health sciences curricula and will also house the college�s VISIONS and HORIZONS programs. Simon, a financial consultant with the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation, played a key role in creating the two programs to help Pitt County teens make successful transitions into PCC curricula from high school and GED programs. Along with funding the Simon Building�s construction, Futures First revenue will be used to purchase new technology to keep PCC health programs up-to-date. Money from the campaign will also be used to create endowments for student scholarships and to fund training and professional development for college employees. �The more money that is invested in Pitt Community College that is used wisely, the better qualified our graduates will be, the more money they will make, and the more they will help make the county and region better economically and educationally,� Williams said. Though PCC is one of the state�s largest community colleges, it is also its most crowded. Pitt administrators say a lack of space on campus will ultimately hamper the school�s ability to meet the community�s educational needs, making success of Futures First crucial. Each year, PCC graduates more than 200 well-trained health care professionals, which still does not meet the needs of area health care providers. In fact, the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research reported last month that as the Baby Boom generation ages and retirees move into North Carolina, the most serious workforce shortages the state faces are in health care fields with nursing topping the list.
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