Walton Foundation gives $2 million toward NWACC Springdale campus
by October 31, 2016 3:06 pm 238 views
The Walton Family Foundation has donated $2 million toward the construction of a Springdale campus for NorthWest Arkansas Community College, the NWACC Foundation announced on Monday (Oct. 31).
NWACC launched a $15 million NWA Ripple Effect capital campaign earlier this year to fund construction of the project, following its 2014 investment in property for the campus, paying $2.4 million for 20 acres on the west side of Arvest Ballpark.
The Walton Foundation contribution is the largest to date, according to NWACC. It brings the total raised to $3.6 million.
“We are so grateful to the Walton Family Foundation for the value they place on expanding educational and empowerment opportunities for the region,” NWACC President Evelyn Jorgenson said, according to an NWACC press release. “The college’s campaign mirrors those same values of increasing the economic prosperity of the region through education and training for all those with a desire to learn.”
The planned facility would serve as an academic campus, as well as a workforce training center, focusing on mechatronics, construction technology and apprenticeship trades. Construction on the 50,000-square-foot, three-story facility is planned to begin late 2017, according to the press release.
The NWACC Washington County campus has been in the works since 2012. Many of NWACC’s roughly 16,000 students (about 8,000 degree-seeking) live in Washington County, and the school projects 2,000 students will attend the campus during its first semester, said Steven Hinds, executive director of public relations and marketing.
The gift announcement comes while the school is in between fundraising leads. Former executive director of development Meredith Brunen’s last day was Oct. 7, and the new director, Annetta Tirey, outgoing director of corporate social responsibility at Tyson Foods, has not yet begun, Hinds said.