Lubbock, Texas (KCBD) – The Wilburn and Helen Wheeler Science Center opened Friday for the first time in three years.

The building is newly renovated and expanded by 30,000 square feet. Serving over 4,000 South Plains students.

Robin Satterwhite, president of South Plains College, says the center will change the way students learn at SPC.

“We have transformed our learning environment into a highly dynamic, modern and engaging learning environment that we believe will change the way students learn, especially in the sciences, here at South Plains College,” said Satterwhite. increase.

Funding for this renovation was provided by the Helen Jones Foundation, the Montgomery Family Foundation, and the William R. and Sandra L. Wheeler Charitable Foundation. SPC says the project would not have been possible without these donors.

William Wheeler donated millions of dollars to the school because he believes the SPC has something the big universities don’t.

“The trick is that two-year colleges have professional teachers.

After graduating from South Plains College, Wheeler attended Texas A&M.

“And I was really worried that by attending South Plains College, I was going to fall behind academically compared to the kids who went to Texas A&M,” Wheeler said. they were. “

The science center is named after Wheeler’s parents. His father was his SPC math teacher.

“If this college hadn’t hired my father, I don’t know where we would have been. He was forced to change jobs for health reasons,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said he was grateful his father sent him to South Plains College. He considers himself one of the many successful people the school has produced.

“One of the people who went to college here retired as an executive vice president at Lockheed Martin and another retired as an executive at BP Oil,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler believes that hard work and education are the keys to success, no matter which school you start at.

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