Taylor Farms CEO and Chairman Bruce Taylor on Tuesday, Oct. 8, redirected recognition for his company’s $1.1 million gift to Hartnell College by naming the college’s STEM Center for retired superintendent-president Dr. Willard Lewallen.
Just before workers on a scissor lift tore away paper to reveal the building’s new name, “Willard Lewallen STEM Center,” Taylor praised Dr. Lewallen for his wide-ranging accomplishments as the college’s top executive, a tenure he called “seven years of bliss.”
“As honored as we are to put our name on the STEM building, we believe it’s more appropriate to put your name on the STEM building,” Taylor said.
The 11 a.m. ceremony outside the 54,000-square-foot center for science, technology, engineering and math on Hartnell’s Main Campus in Salinas was planned to recognize and celebrate the gift by Taylor Farms, a Salinas-based fresh produce company. The $29 million building was completed in 2016 with bonds approved by district voters in 2002.
Dr. Lewallen, who accepted the gift from Bruce Taylor soon after he announced his retirement in January, had intended for the STEM Center to carry the Taylor Farms name, symbolizing the growing importance of the STEM fields in the agricultural industry.
Jackie Cruz, vice president for advancement and development and the Hartnell College Foundation, said the college will formally recognize the Taylor Farms gift with a plaque on a rock to be placed outside the STEM Center.
Hartnell’s new superintendent-president, Dr. Patricia Hsieh, expressed gratitude for the Taylor Farms gift, which she said will be used to establish new pathways to a four-year degree and career readiness for students pursuing engineering and engineering technology.
Dr. Hsieh, who took the reins from Dr. Lewallen last month, pointed to the Salinas Valley agricultural industry’s demand for highly skilled workers to achieve technological innovation and stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.
“Hartnell College has bright, talented and ambitious graduates,” Dr. Hsieh said. “Taylor Farms and your peers in the fresh fruits and vegetables industry have the need – and the opportunities. What a great partnership opportunity! There is so much we can do together.”
Taylor made similar points during his remarks, citing his recent tour of AeroFarms in Newark, N.J., growing leafy greens indoors on a large scale using LED lighting instead of natural sunlight.
Adapting emerging technology will make Taylor Farms more competitive by making its employees more productive, he said.
“We think the [Hartnell] STEM program is the way to do that,” he said. “We have great people, great resources right here.”
In his praise of Dr. Lewallen, Taylor pointed to such successes as Hartnell’s steady increase in the number of students receiving degrees and certificates, which quadrupled over the past seven years.
He also cited Hartnell’s many community partnerships, including degree pathways in computer science and teacher education with California State University, Monterey Bay, and voter support for $167 million in bonds to fund a new Hartnell health sciences building, new college centers in Soledad and Castroville and expansion of the King City Education Center.
Dr. Lewallen responded to the naming honor with emotion, saying he felt “overwhelmed by this incredible generosity and this honor.”
“Never in my wildest imagination would I have imagined that my name would be on a building at Hartnell College,” he said.