PCC to Break Ground on Future Smith Center for Student Advancement

WINTERVILLE—Pitt Community College has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony this month at the future site of the Eddie & Jo Allison Smith Center for Student Advancement.

Set for July 29 at 2 p.m., the event will take place at the corner of Reedy Branch Road and Warren Drive, across the street from the A.B. Whitley Building on PCC’s main campus in Winterville. The ceremony will feature remarks from PCC President Lawrence Rouse, trustees and PCC Foundation Board leaders, and Vice President of Institutional Advancement Susan Nobles.

“We’re excited about breaking ground on a new facility that is going to mean a great deal to the more specialized student support services PCC provides,” Nobles said. “The center is also going to provide space for large classes and various student activities, as well as a number of student recognition events, including pinning ceremonies and the annual Academic Excellence Awards program. This is space we’ve never really had at PCC, and it’s going to improve the overall student experience at the college.”

In August 2017, the PCC Foundation announced a $10-million capital campaign to raise funding for construction of Phase I of the Smith Center. Nobles said money raised by the campaign would also allow the organization to build its endowment for scholarship and general funds.

The center’s first phase, Nobles said, will consist of 34,000-square-feet of space for classrooms, conference rooms, a student scholarship office, and the college’s Women’s Resources Center and Veterans Affairs program. The facility will also house the Institutional Advancement Division, which includes the PCC Foundation, Marketing and Media Relations departments, and the VISIONS Career Development and Scholarship Program.

In making the PCC Foundation’s capital campaign announcement, Nobles noted that the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family had secured naming rights for the student advancement center with a $2 million-contribution. She said PCC Trustees and the State Board of Community Colleges also gave their approval for the college to use $4 million of its Connect NC bond funding that North Carolina voters approved in 2016 for the center’s construction.

Members of the Smith family are planning to attend this month’s groundbreaking. Nobles said they will participate in the ceremony along with the center’s other major donors.

07/24/2019