Pathways to the Future

September 2010 Editorial

I am excited. I am excited for Labette Community College, Parsons, Labette County, and the future of our students and healthcare in this area. The Labette Community College Foundation has embarked on the largest capital campaign in the college’s history. For the last two years, the Capital Campaign has been in the silent phase, focusing on major donors.

Throughout the silent phase, people from all over Labette County and across the country have understood the need for this project and stepped forward pledging support and dollars to fund the project. I am excited about the support from so many individuals and businesses. The scope of this project reaches beyond me and my term as LCC President. The new allied health programs and building will change lives for generations. Our core values focus on accessibility, integrity, quality, and community. These values along with our mission statement - Labette Community College provides quality learning opportunities in a supportive environment for success in a changing world – are the building blocks of our campaign.

Through generous donations and partnerships with many local businesses and individuals the dream of putting LCC in the forefront of allied health training will become a reality. The campaign’s objectives include: building a state-of-the-art Health Science Center, building a scholarship endowment, and funding deferred maintenance projects. Our project will create new and improved opportunities for Southeast Kansans to train in health care fields and obtain lucrative careers upon graduation.

It is now time for community involvement through the public phase of the campaign to aid in completing our campaign. The timing for our campaign completion coincides with the Kresge Challenge Grant deadline of March 31, 2011. Meeting this deadline will ensure LCC receives the $1 million grant from the Kresge Foundation. To date, the campaign has raised $6.5 million. An internal staff campaign was held and 86% of our employees donated to this project. Gifts of cash are not the only way to contribute – many alumni and donors have taken advantage of other options, some of the most common being gifts of stock, land and life insurance.It is a tremendous joy to give to a project of this magnitude and know you are working together with so many other supporters to accomplish this important mission for our students and the future of higher education in Southeast Kansas. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to contribute to something so remarkable, far-reaching and yet will benefit our friends and neighbors for many years.

The focal point is our health science curriculum, which is one of the most successful in the state. In fact, over the past three years, the average pass rate of our nursing students has exceeded the registered nurse national exam pass rate. In each of the past five years, one hundred percent of our radiography students have passed their national exams. And for the last seven years, one hundred percent of our graduates in respiratory therapy have obtained certification. However, the building which now houses the health sciences was not designed for the rapid changes in health science or for the number of students served.

A state-of-the-art facility efficiently designed for specific program requirements makes good business sense. It will not only meet the needs of the current students but has also been designed with room to expand and to adapt to future needs. Three current programs will be housed in the Health Science Center: Nursing, Radiography, and Respiratory Therapy. In addition three new programs will be created: Physical Therapist Assistant, Dental Assistant, and Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. This will cement LCC’s position as the Center of Excellence in Health Care Education in Kansas.

Keep track of campaign progress through Parsons Sun’s series of articles, photos, updates, and testimonials that will keep the public informed. These informative articles and testimonials will provide a sense of scope of the campaign and project.

This project is truly one of the most monumental in Labette County and the history of the College. I would like to thank all the staff, steering committee, Board, and community support for the successful future of our students. I respectfully ask each person reading this article to give thoughtful consideration to giving a gift and the amount of good it will do. We will be happy to work with you to space your gift over a period of up to 5 years to make your giving a reality.