LWC Deidcates 2 Buildings, Receives $400,000 Grant

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- The Lindsey Wilson College community celebrated one of its most historic days in the college's 108-year history on Friday, Oct. 28. Two buildings were dedicated, and the college received a major gift.

Members of the LWC community dedicated the Jerry and Kendrick McCandless Hall and Dr. Robert and Carol Goodin Nursing and Counseling Center, and college officials received a $400,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

"What a roll this college is on, and I give thanks to all of you for investing in this college and our students," LWC President William T. Luckey Jr. told 247 guests at the annual LWC Endowed Scholarship Luncheon, held in Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center. "I don't know when we've had a more exciting day in the life of this college."

On Friday morning, members of the LWC community first dedicated McCandless Hall. Named in honor of longtime LWC trustee Jerry McCandless and his wife, Kendrick, of Campbellsburg, Ky., the 16,100-square-foot, one-story residence hall can house up to about 120 students.

LWC Director of Residence Life Heather Davis said since the residence hall opened in August, McCandless Hall has become "a place that is loved, that is home to so many ladies."

"McCandless Hall has proved to be a great addition to our residential community, and it continues to foster our mission," Davis said.

McCandless Hall is the second residence hall opened at LWC in as many years as the college's resident student population has increased by more than 45 percent in the last two years. For the second consecutive school year, LWC has more than 1,000 students living on campus.

LWC's Physical Plant Division, whose members used some materials that had been cast away and refashioned and recycled them into a new residence hall, performed much of the work on McCandless Hall.

The Biblical significance of that was not lost on Jerry McCandless.

"What this means to me is that Christ took us as worthless people and no 'count people and by his shed blood he made us beautiful," he said. "And that's exactly what's happened here."

The Goodin Nursing & Counseling Center is named in honor of LWC alumnus Dr. Robert Goodin and his wife, Carol, of Louisville, Ky. An Adair County native, Dr. Goodin also is a longtime member of the Lindsey Wilson Board of Trustees.

"Dr. Robert and Carol Goodin may very well be the most highly respected couple associated with this college," Luckey said at the dedication ceremony. "We've received several substantial gifts in their honor. … You are both decent human beings with a servant's heart."

Goodin, one of nine children who grew up in the Millersfield area, said attending LWC "opened a whole new world to me." A total six members of his family attended the college.

"I never in my wildest dreams imagined standing here, or when I was a student I would be standing here," said Goodin, who is a longtime cardiovascular surgeon. "This building means so very, very much to us because of hopefully what it is going to do."

The two-story, 27,100-square-foot Goodin Nursing & Counseling Center houses LWC's nationally accredited School of Professional Counseling and baccalaureate nursing program.

The Gooding Nursing & Counseling Center offers students skills laboratories -- including a simulated hospital floor -- extensive computer suites, specialized training, evaluation and study areas, and technologically supported lecture classrooms.

"The Dr. Robert and Carol Goodin Center promises an ideal setting for contemporary nursing education," said LWC interim Nursing Director Marian Smith. "When I think of the potential outcomes of this program of nursing, which is possible through your generosity, my heart swells up and pounds -- yes, I have palpitations, tachycardia and some dysrhythmias.

"Deep in my heart, I know that these students will graduate from Lindsey Wilson, and they will become nursing educators, and advanced practice nurses in areas such as pediatrics, community health, midwifery, anesthesia, family practice, emergency nursing, medical surgical nursing, oncology and, true to your specialty, critical care/cardiovascular nursing."

LWC Associate Dean of the School of Professional Counseling Jacquelyn Montgomery said the Gooding Center for Nursing & Counseling is an ideal central location from which to direct the school's 26 community campuses in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

"The Dr. Robert and Carol Goodin Nursing & Counseling Center stands today as a symbol of the fruit that is born of opportunity, academic excellence and dedication to service," Montgomery said.

Also at the dedication, LWC received a $400,00 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The grant will be used to purchase equipment for the baccalaureate nursing program.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear "was so impressed with this project and so impressed with the progress you are making at Lindsey Wilson," Commissioner of the Department for Local Government Tony Wilder said. "We're proud to make Lindsey Wilson the educational destination for this entire commonwealth in four-year nursing degrees."

Despite the day's celebrations, Luckey told supporters at the annual Endowed Scholarship Luncheon that LWC must press ahead toward one of its next major goals: increase the Lindsey Wilson endowment from its current level of $11.7 million to $100 million by 2025.

"The time is now upon us to put our collective feet on the accelerator to launch this college forward and to secure its future for the next generation," he said "It can happen, it must happen, it will happen if we act and act now."

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To see pictures from the day, click here.