By J.W. Oliver
Lincoln Academy broke ground on the Cable-Burns Applied Technology and Engineering Center with the help of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins at a ceremony April 11.
Lincoln Academy officials join U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to break ground for the Cable-Burns Applied Technology and Engineering Center, Friday, April 11, 2014. From left to right, Lincoln Academy Board of Trustees Vice President Ann Cable McFarland, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, Lincoln Academy Board of Trustees President Todd Savage, architect Tor Glendinning, Lincoln Academy Senior Class President Seward Matel and Lincoln Academy Head of School David Sturdevant. Campaign Committee Co-Chairman John Reny also assisted with the groundbreaking. (J.W. Oliver photo) |
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U.S. Sen. Susan Collins speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cable-Burns Applied Technology and Engineering Center April 11. The facility “will enable the students of today and tomorrow to develop the knowledge and the skills they need to succeed,” Collins said. (J.W. Oliver photo) |
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“The shops and the labs of this state-of-the-art facility will enable the students of today and tomorrow to explore a wide range of career options and to develop the knowledge and the skills they need to succeed,” Collins said at the ceremony.
“From this center will come a highly skilled, employable and educated workforce – the innovators and the entrepreneurs who will grow our economy and create the jobs of tomorrow,” she said.
Collins praised the “monumental effort” to raise money for the project.
“The widespread support from individuals, businesses and organizations that makes this $2.7 million project possible demonstrates the value that Lincoln Academy has provided for 213 years,” Collins said.
Collins called the day “a historic milestone for a historic school.”
“This project is truly the work of many hands and many hearts,” she said. “It’s about a building and programs, but even more, it’s about the commitment of a community.”
Collins was one of several speakers at the event.
John Reny was the honorary co-chairman of the committee behind the fundraising campaign for the project.
The next five to 10 years will present a “huge opportunity” for young people to start careers in the trades, as approximately 10 million tradespeople retire, Reny said.
“The ATEC is giving us a great opportunity for a lot of our kids to pursue careers in the trades,” Reny said.
“Not everybody is suited to go to college,” he said. “What did you pay your plumber the last time he came? They’re doing okay.”
Lincoln Academy Head of School David Sturdevant talked about the curriculum the school will offer in the new building.
“While this project will support state-of-the-art labs for traditional technology arts courses such as automotive technology, woodworking, welding and drafting, it will do so much more,” Sturdevant said. “It will also offer such courses as architectural design, robotics, composite technologies, aquaculture, and engineering.”
“We are equipping the facility with state-of-the-art tools and technology,” Sturdevant said. “The building provides not only automotive labs and marine and woodworking labs, but also a digital-fabrication studio, a computer-drafting classroom, a flexible general lab and another large classroom.”
Lincoln Academy Board of Trustees President Todd Savage said the effort of the campaign committee illustrates the community’s extraordinary commitment to the school.
The community has great “passion, dedication and pride” for the school, Savage said, “whether they attended Lincoln Academy or not.”
Building architect Tor Glendinning spoke on behalf of the design and construction team.
“Twenty-five years ago, I was designing my dream house in a drafting lab right here in the basement of that gymnasium,” Glendinning said. “Today, my office is a half-mile down the road and I have been able to design what will be a great addition to this campus.”
The building design incorporates the “flexibility and versatility” necessary to adjust with the times.
“As technology changes, this building will need to respond,” Glendinning said. “As the curriculum changes and the tools of learning change, so can the spaces to meet these dynamics.”
The building will also “act as a learning tool in itself” with construction and systems that exemplify “the latest building technologies,” Glendinning said.
The ceremony, with the help of a sunny, warm afternoon, attracted a standing-room-only crowd of supporters, government officials, and Lincoln Academy students and staff.
The crowd gathered under a tent near the construction site for the speeches, before Collins and several school officials stepped outside to break ground in unison.
The work to prepare the construction site was already in progress April 14. Construction will take about six months.
The beginning of construction of the technology center coincides with the start of construction of a new dormitory. The school plans to complete the dormitory by February 2015.
