Lambton College is celebrating the conclusion of its eight-year "Envision Tomorrow" capital campaign.
The ambitious initiative exceeded its original $45 million goal and is credited with "launching a new era for the college and the Sarnia-Lambton community."
It was established in 2015 with the goal of enhancing academic programming, student athletic needs, and applied research opportunities.
President and CEO Rob Kardas credited his predecessor Judith Morris for having the vision to kickstart the campaign.
"Judy's legacy at our college is so big, and she absolutely was the driver of this campaign," said Kardas. "She got it started back in the day and managed most of it before she retired. You can't walk through our campus without seeing Judy's beautiful legacy here, whether it be the buildings or some of the programming within those buildings. Judy's leadership of this Envision Tomorrow campaign was absolutely instrumental in making sure that it all happened. With her vision, and the collective work of people, it got done."
Kardas said achieving the goal was made possible through fundraising, along with federal, provincial, and municipal contributions.
That includes $8.6 million from the Student Administrative Council (SAC), and $2 million each from NOVA Chemicals and the Cestar Group.
As a result, the college now boasts its world-class NOVA Chemicals Health & Research Centre, the 21,000 sq. ft. Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex and the significantly renovated Centre of Excellence in Energy & Bio-Industrial Technologies.
"When you drive onto this campus, from either of the entrances, you obviously see a completely different college than you used to," he said. "That all comes back to our donors who have been instrumental in creating these world-class facilities for Lambton College's students and, obviously, for Sarnia-Lambton's future workforce."
Beyond buildings, facilities and equipment, Kardas said the campaign enabled Lambton College to claim its place on the national and international stages and set new standards for quality in education and research.
He also credited the campaign with helping to bring the standalone Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing degree program to Sarnia, thanks to new levels of experiential learning opportunities available for students.
Kardas said donor generosity also saw scholarship programs grow from $100,000 per year to more than $440,000, eliminating barriers for a huge range of learners.
He said Lambton College is embarking on a new campaign called "Funding Futures".
Further details were not released but more information is expected to be made available in late spring or early summer.