The JCC Foundation has announced that the Hultquist Foundation and Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation are the lead donors of a new science facility being constructed on JCC’s Jamestown Campus. Each foundation contributed $1,000,000 toward the project.

Begun in September 2009, the building will focus on green technology and sustainable living to meet the requirements of the U.S. Green Building Council and qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Scheduled for completion in January 2011, the new facility will house JCC’s biology, biotechnology, chemistry, and geology programs.

“The building will contain visible green technology with an emphasis on sustainable living,” said Ellen Lehning, associate professor of biology. “Exposing students to that at the beginning of their college career could lead to a lifetime of environmental advocacy, and will impact their choice of further education, profession, and how they live at home. The importance of helping students internalize this as a way of life cannot be underestimated.

“In addition, the building is going to contain research spaces in which students will have open access to go in, work, and explore science,” added Dr. Lehning. “The opportunity to learn how to discover and uncover knowledge will provide them with skills that they will be able to use in a variety of professional formats, and we’re hoping it will lead to a generation of new biotech and environmental industries locally.”

Linda Swanson, executive director of the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, stated, “The Sheldon Foundation has been a strong contributor to JCC and has awarded significant grants to almost every capital project on the Jamestown Campus over the past 50 years. We awarded this grant with the intent that JCC remain competitive in attracting and educating local students so that they may provide the skills and talents needed by our community. It is hoped that our investment in this public post-secondary educational facilities will give our students an opportunity to earn sufficient income to support their families and in turn sustain our local economy.”

“The Hultquist Foundation, carrying on the tradition of the Hultquist family since the founding of JCC, believes that the college is very important to the financial well-being of the southwestern New York area,” said Thomas Flowers, president of the Hultquist Foundation. “Recognizing that a new science building is needed for the Jamestown Campus and the increasing importance of the green economy to the country, the Hultquist Foundation believed that its $1,000,000 investment in this project was warranted.”

“Our relationship with both the Hultquist Foundation and the Sheldon Foundation has been a strong one for many years and is one that we hold in high regard,” said JCC President Gregory T. DeCinque. “We continue to be deeply grateful to the leadership of both foundations for their amazing commitment to JCC.”