STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS JOINED STUDENTS AND STAFF TODAY FOR THE GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY FOR COLUMBUS TECHNICAL COLLEGE’S NEW FACILITY. NBC 38’S MARIA JONES WAS THERE AND HAS THE STORY.

Governor Sunny Perdue, joined CTC’s President, Bob Jones to celebrate the ground breaking of the Dr. Robert L. Wright Junior Health & Sciences Center. Dr. Wright says he is honored to be the facility’s namesake but its about what students will learn in the building.

“Well, it’s an honor. To have my name on a building, but as I said in my remarks, more importantly it’s who it’s going to serve. That’s where were going to get the long term benefit,” Dr. Wright stated. Columbus Technical College currently has between 9 and 11-hundred students, but with this new facility, their student body could double. Georgia Governor Perdue added, “Just raising our graduation rates, raising SAT scores, or opening a building and campus like this, it is about what Carl said a life long learning opportunity. ”CTC President Bob Jones, says with the new 80-thousand square foot facility it’s there goal to educate more students. “Were going to be having the capacity now to more than double our out put of health care employees for our community and train skilled people in that area. And were very, very excited about it,” Jones said. Students are also excited about the new facility. RN Student, Shanika Glenn, said, “But we had to separate, you know, the class. Because we were such a big class. And that way the instructors won’t be stretched out for time and the student, you know can get exactly what they need in a timely manner.” This project has been seven years in the making, and costs about 23 million dollars to complete. The facility is scheduled to open in the summer of 2010. FOR WLTZ NBC 38, I’m Maria Jones