LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Schweitzer Career & Technical Education Center on Oct. 23, college administrators announced on Thursday.
The ceremony will be held in the main parking lot of the new CTE center, located in the Lewiston Orchards at 2947 Cecil Andrus Way, and will be fully compliant with the college’s coronavirus (COVID-19) safety protocols, with face coverings and physical distancing required for all attendees. A virtual tour of the facility will be available the day of the event at www.lcsc.edu for those who are unable to attend.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. and feature a number of special guests and speakers, including Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, State Board of Education President Debbie Critchfield, Idaho Division of Career & Technical Education Administrator Clay Long (an LC State alum), LC State President Cynthia Pemberton, and former LC State president Tony Fernandez. Guided, protocol compliant tours led by LC State students will run from 10 a.m.-noon.
In 2017, the Idaho Legislature approved the CTE building project and appropriated $10 million with the requirement that LC State match the funds. In 2020, the Legislature, through the Permanent Building Fund, appropriated another $2.5 million after construction bids came in higher than anticipated. Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories donated $2 million to the project, while SEL founder Edmund O. Schweitzer, III, and his wife Beatriz donated another $1 million as did the J.A. and Kathyrn Albertson Family Foundation. In all, donations have helped generate just under $7.5 million towards the CTE center.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the immense support we’ve received from the Governor, the Legislature, the State Board, the Schweitzers and SEL, the Albertson Foundation, and so many others,” Pemberton said. “The Schweitzer CTE Center will benefit students, families, businesses, and communities in this region and throughout Idaho for generations to come. On behalf of LC State and the many Warriors who will walk through these new halls, I offer a sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this amazing facility a reality.”
After breaking ground on April 19, 2019, the Schweitzer CTE Center will open in time for spring semester, beginning on Jan. 19, 2021. The 86,000-square-foot facility is expected to serve the needs of students from LC State, neighboring Lewiston High School, and others throughout the region. The facility will house most of the college’s Technical & Industrial Division programs including auto mechanics technology, CNC machining technology, information technology, engineering technology, industrial electronics technology, industrial maintenance and millwright technology, and heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) technology.
Other major donors who will be honored during the event include the Economic Development Administration (EDA), The Sunderland Foundation, Rogers Motors Inc., The Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Hillcrest Aircraft Company, Dr. William Mannschreck, and Dr. Marion and Lorena Shinn.
Room sponsors and donors will be listed and recognized throughout the facility.
To make a donation, to learn more about naming opportunities, or to become an individual or corporate sponsor for the Schweitzer CTE Center visit www.lcsc.edu/giving, or call the LC State Foundation Office at 208-792-2458.