'A giant step forward': Henderson Community College Sullivan technology center offers new world of possibilities to students, community
Martha Odom doesn't give her age. But you can tell it in her face, in her studious manner, and in her focused desire to find a new career.
Sitting with her back to the classroom door, the Henderson resident is not thinking about the crowd on the floor below her, or of the man who has helped to make her return to school possible.
Instead, Odom is just a woman trying, like so many other students at Henderson Community College, to finish up her assignments before her medical and insurance billing class begins.
And after 16 1/2 years, there is finally a building that will make it that much easier for her to do that.
It's called the William L. Sullivan Technology Center, and it was dedicated with great fanfare on Thursday.
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If Odom has her way, she will have her medical assisting degree by December 2009.
At that point, she intends to find a job -- and Odom said she expects to use the Sullivan Center to help launch her into another career.
That is not only entirely possible -- it is entirely the purpose of the new $13 million facility.
"You won't find anyone in this room happier than me that this (moment has arrived)," said HCC President Patrick Lake.
"(The Sullivan Center) is a giant, giant step forward," added Cass Wilson III, the chair of the HCC Board of Directors.
That's because the 53,000 square-foot building hopes to become a regional service center for a variety of programs that include agricultural and industrial maintenance technologies, student tutoring, counseling, veterans services, special needs services and adult education.
"I feel it's a great facility to better serve our students," said Nikki Brotherton, coordinator of assessment testing at The Hill.
She was standing in the second floor of the Tech Center near what is called the One Stop Center, a consolidated employment center that will connect employers with the needs of under- and unemployed local residents.
(The second floor capabilities were dedicated Thursday to Sullivan's wife, Elizabeth "Libba" Dorsey.)
"We need a workforce that will be flexible," said Helen Mountjoy, Secretary of the Kentucky Education Cabinet. "This center is created with the idea of removing the barriers to help people.
"You've done much more than build on this site. You have built on the possibilities" for those around you.
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As far as possibilities, it seems William L. Sullivan sees them everywhere.
One example was the GPS unit he brought to a family gathering about a decade ago, said State Sen. Dorsey Ridley, who spoke at Thursday's event.
Or it might be that Sullivan just has a knack for understanding how technology will help people improve, Ridley said.
The only original member of the HCC Board of Directors was a major proponent of the construction of the new facility which, by the time Odom graduates, will be heading toward the toddler stage of its development on campus.
By then, its third-floor board room, business and industry training room, two computer labs, Community and Economic Development Offices and sites for lecture halls will probably have already been used countless times by regional organizations.
The Henderson-Henderson County Chamber of Commerce and the Hall of Fame Board have also held meetings there, for instance.
And for students who often carry laptop computers around to help them complete their homework, the entire Sullivan Center will be wireless, meaning that no cords or cables will be needed to hook up to the Internet.
It's progress that Sullivan himself was happy to promote, saying that every square foot of the building is dedicated to helping people who need it.
"Are we all dressed up with no place to go?" he asked. "Far from it. The need for this building is critical. I am truly honored. May it be a shining light through the years."
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Meanwhile, the William L. Sullivan Scholarship has been established. The goal is to have a $100,000 endowment, with half the money matched by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
So far, there have been 40 pledges and contributions.
