The Gleaner
October 21, 2003

Supporters of Henderson Community College gathered Monday at the college to kick off a fund-raising campaign that is expected to net millions of dollars.

"This comes at a very critical time," HCC President Pat Lake said to about two dozen people. "We're not any different from any other college in the country; we're all struggling to access all available resources."

The campaign is part of a statewide effort called "Fulfilling the Promise," which will run five years to benefit the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. The original plan was for the Henderson gathering to be linked via interactive television with a similar gathering in Lexington that launched the fund drive for the entire state. But an equipment problem in Lexington prevented local participants from hearing and seeing the Lexington meeting.

Scott Davis, the chairman of the local fundraising effort, alluded to that problem in outlining the goals of the campaign.

"Our educational infrastructure is so important to whatever aspect of community development you look at," he said. "For this college to continue to excel we've got to provide facilities.

"The first priority is for child-care facilities. If you look at enrollment -- and see the number of nontraditional students we have here -- that's critical.

"The second priority is technology infrastructure. With the glitches we've seen this afternoon we recognize we can beef that up in many areas. We need to provide access to communications and technology for all aspects of learning.

"The third area of the campaign is student access, providing more scholarships, more access to education for community citizens.

"The campaign's lined out real well. The need is aptly demonstrated. The strong increase in enrollment that the college is now enjoying is posing new challenges."

No goal was announced for the campaign, but an earlier feasibility study indicated that about $3 million could be raised locally. The statewide goal is to exceed the $43 million raised by the community college system in a similar campaign in the mid-1990s.

Methodist Hospital kicked off the local campaign by pledging $285,000 over five years. Lake said that will allow HCC to immediately add 20 slots to its nursing program.

"Across the state and nation there is a nursing shortage," said Bruce Begley, executive director of the hospital. "The answer to the nursing shortage is putting more qualified individuals into those jobs, not taking from existing sources. Our partnership with the college is a key strategy to address this issue, and we have always found the college to be very helpful and willing to work with us to address our needs."