Two longtime supporters of Pellissippi State Community College have continued their philanthropy with donations to construct the Ruth and Steve West Workforce Development Center on the college’s Blount County campus.
Clayton, headquartered in Maryville, and the Clayton Foundation each have pledged $250,000 to the project for a total commitment of $500,000.
Michell Clayton, managing director of the Clayton Foundation, and Susan Brown, Clayton’s director of philanthropy, presented donation commitments to L. Anthony Wise Jr., Pellissippi State’s president.
“These gifts are a continuation of a long partnership with Clayton and the Clayton Foundation to educate Blount County students and prepare them to enter the local workforce with the skills they need to create a bright future for themselves and their families, right here in Blount County,” Wise said.
The Clayton donations to The Campaign for Pellissippi State will help build the new workforce development center, a $16.5 million project that Denark Construction expects to break ground on this winter. The 53,000-square-foot building that is being designed by BarberMcMurry Architects will be used by Pellissippi State and Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville to help fill the area’s need for highly skilled, college-educated employees.
Pellissippi State’s part of the new building is expected to house a Smart Factory MegaLab featuring Industry 4.0 curriculum and offer classes in computer information technology, culinary arts, electrical engineering technology and mechanical engineering technology.
The Clayton Foundation has supported Pellissippi State since 1990. Its first major gift to the two-year community college was $800,000 in 2008 to support the college’s Blount County campus and its Clayton Performing Arts Center on its Hardin Valley campus.
Clayton has supported Pellissippi State since 2003. The company’s first major gift to the college was $200,000, pledged in 2008 to support the Blount County campus.
Pellissippi State expects to open the Ruth and Steve West Workforce Development Center to students in fall 2021.
Lesli Bales-Sherrod does marketing and writing for Pellissippi State Community College.
