OTC receives pair of 6-figure donations

Ozarks Technical Community College on Wednesday announced a pair of six-figure donations to the higher education institution.

The gifts from SRC Holdings Corp. and the Gentry family support OTC's Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing, according to news releases issued by the school. The $40 million, 120,000-square-foot building on OTC's Springfield campus is slated to open in August, according to school officials.

The SRC donation will fund the SRC Quality Lab inside the PMC, according to a news release.

“We want the move to advanced manufacturing to consider remanufacturing and its profound impact on sustainability,” said Jack Stack, SRC founder and CEO, in the release. “This investment will pay off far into the future as OTC trains the next generation of SRC associates.”

The SRC Quality Lab will house inspection equipment, gauges and materials testing instruments, and it will be available to faculty, students and industry partners.

The gift from the Gentry family is going toward the Jack & Ann Gentry Family Event Center, according to a separate news release. The name pays homage to the founders of Springfield manufacturing company Positronic Industries Inc., the late father and mother of John Gentry, the company's senior engineering director. Positronic, which makes electronic connectors, sold last year to Wallingford, Connecticut-based Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH).

"My parents’ company and OTC collaborated almost as soon as the college opened its doors," Gentry said in the release. "Positronic started an apprenticeship program for its employees using OTC for the classroom portion of the training. The Plaster Manufacturing Center will provide even more opportunities for the two organizations to work together.”

The Jack & Ann Gentry Family Event Center is designed to host job fairs, manufacturing events, industry meetings and receptions.

The gifts mark the latest donations to the PMC, including gifts from the Robert W. Plaster Foundation, American National, The Durham Co. and Emerson, according to the release.