LEWISTON, Idaho – The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation has donated $1 million to the new Lewis-Clark State College Schweitzer Career & Technical Education Center, college officials have announced.
The donation will be used to help cover costs for the 86,000-square-foot facility, located in the Lewiston Orchards. The Schweitzer CTE Center is scheduled to open in time for the 2021 spring semester in January.
“We are so appreciative to the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation for this incredibly generous and helpful donation,” LC State President Cynthia Pemberton said. “The Albertson Family Foundation has supported a number of meaningful and important projects over the years and we’re honored that it has partnered with us. The Schweitzer CTE Center will benefit our region and Idaho for generations to come, and the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation will be a major reason why.”
The Schweitzer CTE Center is a regional CTE center that will serve the needs of students from LC State, neighboring Lewiston High School, and others throughout the region. Construction on the site began in the spring of 2019.
The facility will house most of the college’s Technical & Industrial Division programs including auto mechanics technology, CNC machining technology, information technology, engineering technology, industrial electronics technology, industrial maintenance and millwright technology, and heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) technology.
The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and expanding ways to learn; and to enhancing sense of place and community for all Idahoans. The Foundation started in 1966 and has donated more than $700 million to Idaho communities, with the mission of investing time, energy and resources into limitless learning, innovative leaders, and stronger communities.
“We are very supportive of LCSC’s commitment to provide programs and degrees that will lead to livable wage jobs for their graduates,” said Roger Quarles, Executive Director. “The new Lewis-Clark State College Schweitzer Career & Technical Education Center will provide the education and training necessary for graduates to enter the workforce prepared and motivated.”
In 2017, the Idaho Legislature approved the CTE building project and appropriated $10 million with the requirement that LC State match the funds. In 2020, the Legislature, through the Permanent Building Fund, appropriated another $2.5 million after construction bids came in higher than anticipated.
“This additional funding support was incredibly important to being able to move the project forward,” Pemberton said.
In all, donations like this one from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation have helped generate just under $7.5 million towards the CTE center. To make a donation, to learn more about naming opportunities, or to become an individual or corporate sponsor for the Schweitzer CTE Center call the LC State Foundation Office at 208-792-2458.