Larry A. Ward, a 1966 engineering drafting technology graduate, used the hands-on skills he honed at the college to eventually invent new packaging machinery and establish Packaging Progressions Inc.
The entrepreneur’s donation of more than $1 million – the largest alumni gift in the history of the college – financed the recent revamping of one of the oldest instructional spaces on campus – the machining lab. The 14,299-square-foot facility features fresh lighting, flooring, fixtures and, most importantly, new equipment in the recently christened Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center.