PCC Breaks Ground at Herman Simon Building Site

WINTERVILLE�Pitt Community College administrators broke ground Thursday at the site of the future Herman Simon Building, a 34,000-square-foot addition to the college�s health sciences facilities.

Expected to open in May 2010, the Simon Building will provide much-needed space to PCC, which carries the unwelcomed distinction of being North Carolina�s most crowded community college. 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, has been an ardent PCC supporter and a leader in allocating financial resources to programs and students at the college. With shovel in hand and a broad smile on his face, he participated in Thursday�s groundbreaking.

Those who know Simon know the smile he wore Thursday morning stemmed from the fact that the building that will soon bear his name will be a place of opportunity for those wanting to better themselves and their lives through education.

Having grown up in the Great Depression era and having worked his way through New York University, Simon made a lifelong commitment to education and training young people to become productive citizens.

�I came from a small town in New Jersey, and I had never seen a college until I started at NYU,� Simon said earlier this year, when it was announced that PCC�s newest facility would be named for him. �I saw what all of those people before me (at NYU) did to help people like me who had nothing. That stayed with me all of my life.�

Simon was instrumental in creating the VISIONS Career Development and Scholarship Program at Pitt in 2003 and the HORIZONS Program three years later. He pictured the programs as a means of helping Pitt County teens needing direction make successful transitions into PCC curricula from high school and GED programs.

Ashley Lane, one of the approximately 200 students who have received scholarships and educational services through VISIONS since its start, was on hand Thursday to show her appreciation to Simon and the Smith Family Foundation. Lane graduated from Pitt with a nursing degree in May and will begin work at Pitt County Memorial Hospital on Dec. 15.

�Without the �vision� of (Herman Simon), I may not be standing here before you today,� Lane said.

Eddie Smith, owner of Greenville�s Grady-White Boats and a major financial contributor to the Simon Building project, called Simon �a renaissance man� and said Lane and those who follow her at PCC through VISIONS and HORIZONS would be Simon�s legacy. But the Simon Building, he added, would serve as a physical reminder of his commitment to providing opportunity through education.

�He�s a big guy with a big heart,� Smith said.

For his part, Simon thanked the Smith family for encouraging him to pursue his dream of providing people with an opportunity to succeed in life. He reminded those in attendance Thursday that there is work ahead.

�We have a long way to go before we can say that all the citizens of Pitt County can take advantage of Pitt Community College,� Simon said.

The importance of yesterday�s groundbreaking to PCC�s future was probably best illustrated by the capacity crowd that filled the Fulford Building auditorium. In addition to Pitt employees and health sciences students, the event drew PCC Trustees and Foundation Board members, representatives from Pitt County Memorial Hospital, and state and local government officials.

The standing room-only conditions in Fulford prompted PCC Foundation Board Chairman Billy Dunn to joke, �As you can see, we need space, space, space.�

To pay for the Simon Building�s construction, 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.

On Thursday, PCC President G. Dennis Massey said Futures First had garnered $6.9 million of its goal and was �still charging ahead.�

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.

11/21/2008