Augusta Technical College celebrated its most recent donation with some fanfare Thursday morning.
Mayor Garnett Johnson and Chairman Doug Duncan of the Columbia County Board of Commissioners were among the attendees at a presentation event in the Jack B. Patrick Auditorium, where the school welcomed engineer and philanthropist T.R. Reddy as he presented ATC with a check of $1 million toward the completion of its advanced manufacturing facility.
The money will be used for “programming, scholarships and… capital and technology upgrades for the institution,” said ATC president Jermaine Whirl.
Last year the college announced its plans to build an 81,000 square foot facility in Columbia County, off of I-20, to train students in a variety of areas ranging from plumbing, electrical and architectural training to computer and nuclear sciences.
In May, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the state budget, which will include some $27 million in design funding toward the facility.
Joe Gambill, vice chair of Augusta Tech’s Foundation Board, mentioned to the audience that the training center will include spaces for digital manufacturing pneumatics and hydraulics, machine tool mechatronics, robotics and 3-D printing.
“Hundreds of students are going to have their lives changed by coming to this building and advancing their education, and being able to go out and find employment in our community and beyond,” said Gambill.
When Reddy made remarks to the audience, he referenced a story about Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda speaking to audiences throughout the U.S. about Hinduism and religious tolerance, and an encounter with John D. Rockefeller in the 1890s, in which he convinced the tycoon to begrudgingly donate his first large sum of money toward public welfare.
According to the story, Rockefeller expected thanks from the religious leader, but Vivekananda told him, “You should be thanking me.”
The Foundation Board, Whirl mentioned, has approved renaming the upcoming institution the T.R. Reddy School of Advanced Manufacturing.
“This will be the new brand of that school,” Whirl said. “And so for every graduate that will move forward, they’re going to be a legacy from the investment that you’re making.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
