Keeping the Faith

A sweet and loving child of God returned to her heavenly father in the still and quiet of a bitterly-cold January morning earlier this week. Julie Buchanan, better known to most of her McDowell Tech family as Julie Padgett, ended her battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, on Wednesday, just a little more than 21 months after she was officially diagnosed with the disease.

McDowell Tech, Isothermal and Western Piedmont to Collaborate on Regional Effort to Boost Graduation Rates in High-Demand Careers

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded McDowell Technical Community College and regional partners Isothermal Community College and Western Piedmont Community College a grant in the amount of $2.3 million. The project, entitled Foothills FORWARD, aims to facilitate an occupation-ready workforce by addressing regional demands through efforts focused on increasing college retention, persistence and completion rates among students in areas served by the three colleges.

Donors to MTCC’s Day of Giving Are Making a Difference

Santa came a little early this year for the McDowell Technical Community College Foundation, with 55 individuals donating $8,710 in just 24 hours to the Foundation’s Endowment Fund during the college’s First Annual Day of Giving held in early November. All of these donations will support student scholarships.

Sharing and Caring This Thanksgiving Season

On Monday, the McDowell Tech Student Government Association (SGA), along with members of the McDowell Tech faculty and staff, distributed turkeys and food boxes with enough staples to prepare a warm, nutritious Thanksgiving dinner to each of the 81 students who responded to the college’s offer of assistance.

Santa to Highlight McDowell Tech Tree Lighting on November 30th

If there’s anything that gets on Santa’s nerves, it must surely be the skeptical adults he runs into as he darts in and out of malls getting ready for the holiday season—folks like Ryan Garrison, McDowell Tech’s Interim President, for example. After a particularly unpleasant beard-pulling incident recently, he is probably at the top of Santa’s “Gets On My Last Nerve” list, and he probably shouldn’t expect that Christmas bonus he’s been asking for.

McDowell Tech Employees Receive National Recognition

Two McDowell Technical Community College employees have recently been recognized at the national level for their efforts to promote achievement and success among community college students.

MTCC Foundation Announces 1st Annual Day of Giving

McDowell Technical Community College Foundation announced today the college’s first annual Day of Giving and a special matching gift opportunity to kick off the Foundation’s 2023-24 Endowment Campaign on November 1, 2023.

Construction Begins on MTCC’s Workforce Education Center in Old Fort

Construction has begun on McDowell Technical Community College’s new Old Fort Workforce Education Center in downtown Old Fort, NC, located in a 4,000 square foot section of the town’s Historic Rockett Building. T.C. Strickland Construction Company of Shelby is General Contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed in early 2024 at a cost of over $1,600,000.

State Appropriation for McDowell Tech Will Fund New Health Science and Public Safety Building

McDowell Tech’s dream of a new Health Sciences and Public Safety Building inched closer to reality with the passage of the NC General Assembly’s 2023 budget on September 22nd. Included in the bill, which became law 10 days after its passage due to NC Governor Roy Cooper’s decision not to sign the bill, includes a $25,250,000 appropriation for the college’s proposed building.

MTCC One of Top 20 Community Colleges in the Nation

McDowell Technical Community College has been ranked 18th best community college in the United States for 2023 by SmartAssetTM, an online financial technology company which describes itself as having “…the best personal finance advice on the web.” The ranking is based on SmartAsset’s annual study of 845 community colleges located throughout the country. Although several North Carolina community college’s made this year’s list, McDowell Tech is the only college west of Durham to place in the top 20.