SWVCTC President Joanne Jaeger Tomblin introduced various elected officials, community leaders and professionals who had made the major project possible.
The new facility will provide modern labs for nursing, medical laboratory technology, radiological technology, surgical technology, emergency medical services, electrical engineering technology, information technology, computer information systems, web design, personal computer support, ultra sound technology, CT scan technology, virtual and simulation labs, a distance learning classroom, student wellness and fitness area, business and entrepreneur training areas, student lounges, study and a commons area. It also has room to grow for additional programs such as mining, energy and survey technologies.
$9 million in funding for the facility was provided by the bond system and the rest was raised by the Southern Foundation. The bonds enabled the school to begin construction on the center in 2005. Tomblin said Southern also received a grant from the Verizon Foundation which was used for electronic infrastructure on the 55,000 square foot facility which came out of the Major Gifts and Vision campaigns.
Tomblin said the college's Board of Governors had overseen a lot of major changes since 2001 and credited Kevin Fowler, Fr. George Kostas, Linda Akers, Mike Baldwin, George Simpson and members of the Southern Foundation including Phyllis and Owen Osenton, Tank Williams, Mark Mareski and David Schell of the contracting company which built the facility.
Tomblin also gave credit to the colleges department administrators and staff for their assistance.
Members of the Southern Foundation and the Logan County Commission were also thanked for their assistance and support both financial and in encouraging the college to move forward on programs like the mine academy. Tomblin noted the new facility will be used to train people from across the region for the high-tech jobs of the future.
Kevin Fowler of Southern's Board of Governors spoke about the college's growth over the years and how the Allied Health programs had created a strong reputation across the state for creating new healthcare professionals, some of whom he worked with in his day job as the chief officer at Logan Regional Medical Center.
Fowler pointed out that in order for the college to maintain it's quality in such a competitive field it had to update the technology needed to train students and that the new facility would enable Southern to do just that.
Fowler said he appreciated the work done by Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin and the local legislative delegation for their role in making the facility a reality. Fowler also spoke about Tomblin's other accomplishments across the area in terms of getting the state to make major contributions to Logan County's infrastructure.
SWVCTC RN Graduate Elston Johnson who is currently employed by LRMC spoke about how the college changed his life and helped him achieve success.
Johnson said he initially planned to go into Chemistry at Marshall University, but heard about Southern's Allied Health program being among the very best in the state and nationally recognized for turning out quality graduates. Johnson signed up, and along the way he found himself becoming involved in the campus as well, eventually serving as student representative to the college's board of governors. Johnson said he found out along the way that a LOT of people were responsible for Southern being "the success it is today."
Johnson said going to Southern greatly influenced his life for the better and helped him to become the person he is today.
"Southern is like the Walmart of education," he quipped. "It provides the best education at the best price."
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