It’s been more than three weeks since Flint Hills Technical College officially kicked off its largest ever fundraising campaign and according to college leadership, there has been a high level of conversations and desire for support expressed since that time.
That’s according to FHTC President Dr. Caron Daugherty, who recently joined KVOE’s Talk of Emporia to, in part, discuss the $17 million Advancing Tomorrow Capital Campaign. The campaign is raising funds to help bring a new Advanced Industry Education Center to the college’s west campus.
Daugherty says the main purpose of the new 27,000 square foot facility will be to provide dedicated space for existing programs to help increase the success of students, thus bolstering the supply of qualified workers for local industries.
The new facility will be occupied by the industrial engineering, robotics and technology departments as well as the college’s power plant program, which will move from the Humanitarian Center. While only a handful of programs will occupy space in the new facility, Daugherty says there will be additional changes for other established programs down the road.
During the official kick-off on April 3, it was announced that the campaign had received a $2 million lead gift from the Jones Trust and that same day, FHTC Vice-President for Advancement Mike Crouch stated that it may just be the first of many. Tuesday, Crouch stated he could not give much information from a financial perspective on the campaign, however, he said there has been a lot of interest expressed from “industry partners” within the community in recent weeks.
Crouch believes the lead gift from the Jones Trust played a part in generating that interest.
While conversations are ongoing with potential large donors, Crouch says the college is planning to ramp up efforts in attracting individual donors in the coming weeks, with the annual FHTC Gala now wrapped up.
Tenatively, Daugherty says plans are to begin construction on the new facility as soon as 2027, with classes possibly beginning by the fall of 2028 or early 2029. If you are interested in donating to the campaign or would like more information on how you can get involved, call the FHTC Foundation at 620-341-1380 or email foundation@fhtc.edu.
