THOMASVILLE — Davidson County Community College celebrated the completion of the Sarah and Edward Smith Health Sciences Center yesterday during a ribbon cutting ceremony on the Davidson campus. The event highlighted the many contributions that made the building possible.

In addition to the Smith family, support for the center came from the federal government, the Connect NC Bond, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners, several foundations, our own DCCC Foundation, and numerous businesses and individuals throughout the region.

“It’s about the community we serve and the needs of our communities,” DCCC President Mary Rittling said. “It’s not the building that’s significant but the actions happening inside. We are preparing students to enter health care professions with the skills and confidence needed to make a difference.”

The 40,000-square-foot building opened for classes in August 2018 for the fall semester. The center brings together multiple health sciences programs previously housed in various buildings across the Davidson Campus and includes updated lab, classroom and meeting space to help foster the type of interdisciplinary learning that is practiced between health care professionals in the field.

The center is named in honor of the late Sarah Lanier Smith and the late Edward “Eddie” Calvin Smith by their family. It will honor Sarah and Eddie’s commitments to quality education and health care. The couple supported educational opportunities both locally and across the state. Eddie Smith also served as the first chair of the DCCC Foundation Board and as a college trustee for 12 years, chairing the board for four years.

“My father was a man on a mission,” said Lynda Swann, president of National Wholesale and daughter of Sarah and Edward Smith. “He was passionate about DCCC and passionate about his community.” Swann thanked all those who gave towards the effort of seeing the building become a reality and gave a special thank you to the employees of National Wholesale the company founded by her father.

Tribute was also paid to the late Christine Harris, whose bequest to the DCCC Foundation exceeded $10 million and is thought to be the largest cash gift ever given to a North Carolina community college. Her gift is being used by the DCCC Foundation to support various strategic initiatives, including the new health sciences center. A portrait of Harris, son Charles, and husband Dutchie hangs on the second floor of the center.

After the ribbon was cut, guests enjoyed a tour of the new building and interacted with health care students and faculty members.