Public Relations

Jack Shewmaker - flanked by David Thrasher and Dr. Becky Paneitz -acknowledges SIFE students on stairs at the Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007.

NWACC Foundation fulfills $2 million
of Walton Family Foundation Challenge Gift

Contact:         Jill Wagar, Associate VP for Development

                        (479) 619-4321 or (479) 426-3260

                        jwagar@nwacc.edu

BENTONVILLE (Friday, Nov. 9, 2007) – NorthWest Arkansas Community College President Dr. Becky Paneitz and NWACC Foundation Board Chair David Thrasher announced today that the NWACC Foundation has fulfilled the Walton Family Foundation’s first year’s challenge of $2 million.

Last April, the NWACC Foundation announced a $4 million matching gift from the Walton Family Foundation to help construct the Global Business Development Center to house NWACC’s business programs.  The terms of the gift require NWACC Foundation to raise $2 million in matching funds 2007 and $2 million in 2008.

“Our fundraising efforts go beyond bricks and mortar; it’s about promoting student success,” Paneitz said.  “We understand that in order for our students to be successful we need to provide facilities and resources for them to do so.”

The first year’s matching funds have been made possible by five donors.

At NWACC’s commencement ceremony in May, the Jack and Melba Shewmaker family announced a gift of $2 million to the capital campaign.    $1.8 million was applied to the new Global Business Development Center, and thus toward the Walton Family Foundation match,  and $200,000 to support the nursing program.

With the announcement of the Shewmaker’s gift, NWACC unveiled the new name for the facility, the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development Center.

John and Emily Douglas of Bentonville have significantly contributed to the campaign resulting in the “John and Emily Douglas Learning Resource Center” in the new facility.  The learning resource center will provide multi-media information to students, business owners, and others.

Randy and Valorie Lawson of Bentonville have provided a gift to the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) area in the new facility.

“Randy and Valorie are passionate about education and they are enthusiastic about SIFE,” she said. “They’ve stepped forward with a gift to create the Randy and Valorie Lawson SIFE Center.”

Long-time NWACC supporters George and Cheryl Westmoreland have made a generous contribution to the campaign.

Nabholz Construction has pledged a major gift toward the new Center.  Nabholz served as the contractor for the construction of the Student Center and the Parking Garage.

The Global Business Development Center is a component of the NWACC Foundation’s $16 capital campaign.  Other campaign projects are a nursing center and a scholarship endowment. 

NWACC plans to break ground for the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development Center in the first half of 2008 for it to be ready for occupancy for the fall semester of 2009.  WD&D Architects are serving as the architectural firm for the facility.

For questions/comments on this content, please contact jhall@nwacc.edu

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