Pulaski Tech Gets $1.5M for Humanities, Arts Building

The Pulaski Technical College Foundation said Friday that the Windgate Charitable Foundation has awarded it a $1.5 million grant to furnish and equip the college’s new Center for Humanities and Arts.

Pulaski Tech says the is the largest private grant in its history. The 90,000-SF center is scheduled to open in January.

“This is such an amazing gift and will be a game changer for the students and the entire community,” Shannon Boshears, executive director of the PTC Foundation, said in a news release. “Many of our students have never seen a play or been to an art gallery. All of our students will benefit from this by enhancing their college experience and keeping them in school.”

Under terms of the grant, the college will get $1 million to purchase musical instruments, art supplies, audio-visual equipment for the performance theater and materials for the Big Rock Sculpture Park that adjoins the building. The remaining $500,000 will be used as a challenge grant that Windgate will match dollar-for-dollar to create an endowment to support the building’s operations. 

Every student pursuing an associate of arts or associate of science degree will use the new building. 

“We know that this gift will dramatically impact the lives of our students and community, and with its support to our Fine Arts curriculum, will cultivate an arts appreciation and perspective never before imaginable. That is a life gift for our PTC students and their families,” PTC President Margaret Ellibee said. 

The center integrates Pulaski Tech’s humanities and arts offerings, including visual and studio arts, theatre, music, English, speech and philosophy. It will include art studios, gallery and exhibit space, music rooms, a black box theatre with flexible seating, and 500-seat theater for campus and community events.