Southeast Center Capital Fund

A Letter from the DCCC Educational Foundation Board Chair and Executive Director

January 2026

At Delaware County Community College, we are deeply grateful to the donors, community partners, business leaders, faculty, staff, and friends who contributed ideas, advocacy, resources, and sustained partnership in support of the Building Community Campaign. Your commitment to students and to the region’s workforce made this effort the most successful campaign in the College’s history.

The Building Community Campaign concluded on December 31, 2025, having raised more than $8.5 million—exceeding its original $7.5 million goal. Through this campaign, supporters advanced four critical priorities: scholarships, workforce development, equity and social justice initiatives, and the Southeast Center. More than half of all funds raised directly support students through scholarships, reflecting what donors consistently told us mattered most—helping students access, persist in, and complete their education.

While the comprehensive campaign has now concluded, our work continues. Our focus is firmly centered on the $5 million capital investment required to complete the initial build-out of the new Southeast Center. The Center opened in January and is already welcoming students, but rising construction, equipment, and fit-out costs—driven in part by supply constraints and tariffs—have created a modest yet immediate need for additional capital support to fully realize this first and foundational phase.

The Southeast Center is already coming to life. Students began taking classes in January in completed portions of the building, with construction and fit-out continuing through and beyond the March ribbon-cutting—ensuring more of the region’s students are being trained right now for high-priority industries while remaining spaces are completed.

This initial phase of the Southeast Center represents a major community investment in education, workforce preparation, and regional economic strength. The Center offers high-demand programs in healthcare, biotechnology, skilled trades, culinary arts and hospitality studies, early childhood education, and workforce training—programs that respond directly to employer needs and prepare residents across Delaware and Chester Counties for meaningful careers. Recent public investments in workforce and early childhood initiatives further affirm the importance of completing these spaces as planned.

On behalf of DCCC students, workers, families, and employers, we invite you to join us in making the new Southeast Center campus the thriving hub of education and workforce preparation our community deserves. You can support this effort by contributing to the Southeast Center Capital Fund, sponsoring a space within the building, or connecting with our Advancement team to explore a giving opportunity aligned with your interests.

Thank you for your belief in Delaware County Community College and for your continued role in strengthening our community.

 

L. Jay Burks, Ph.D.

Chair, DCCC Educational Foundation Board

 

Laura Chisholm, Ed.D.

Vice President, Institutional Advancement

Executive Director, DCCC Educational Foundation