SALISBURY – A $150,000 donation to the Catawba College Mind Body Soul campaign from Greg and Missie Alcorn of Salisbury will be used to enhance the active learning center in Corriher-Linn-Black Library.

The campaign is a three-year, $38.2 million fundraising effort concentrating on three areas – academics, sports and religious studies. It is designed to upgrade facilities and begin programs, ensuring that the college is prepared to grow and retain students. 

Earl Givens Jr., director of the library, said the money will be used to build a digital makerspace lab.

Equipment will allow students to create digital and physical objects, 3-D printing on a large scale, video production, laser engraving and digital art. The 3-D prints, such as a suit of armor for a theater student project, will be connected to augmented reality to bring the project to life, Givens said.

“We will be combining several technologies.”

The technology makes Catawba one of the leaders in this field.

“We’re cutting edge … ahead of the game, if we continue our momentum,” Givens said. “The technology makes students more employable, helps with recruitment of new students and gives students an opportunity to master 21st-century technology skills.”

Greg Alcorn said he and his wife love Catawba.

“The makerspace is a unique resource, helping students adapt to a changing world. What a terrific asset,” he said.

Active learning is the key to reaching today’s college student, Givens said.

“These students grew up in technology, and they will not ask for help,” he said. “They prefer to try to do it themselves, and they struggle. The question is: How do we engage this generation?”

Catawba’s first active learning center, called the ICE Box — for Innovate, Collaborate and Engage — is in the library. Funded with a $100,000 grant from the federal Institute of Museum of Library Science, the lab is used for hands-on learning instead of lectures.

“This is where students are able to imagine, create and see that creation come to life,” Givens says.

As an example, all furniture is on wheels – desks, chairs, computers and printer tables – so that students move about easily and collaborate.

Plans are for the ICE Box to continue as a hands-on lab. Augmented reality and virtual reality equipment will be housed in the new digital makerspace.