Salisbury’s Catawba College is transforming its former coal-fired power plant into a dining, study and meeting area in an effort to create a “living-learning laboratory,” school officials say.
The Smokestack Project renovation is financed by gifts from two families who have supported Catawba for many years, Fred and Alice Stanback and Greg and Missie Alcorn, according to a college press release. Completion is expected next fall.
The new space will feature flexible study and meeting areas, a dining room and a rooftop deck. Officials said the Smokestack will model environmental responsibility at the college, which has 1,390 students from 35 states and 32 foreign countries, according to its website.
“The Smokestack will give students a place to connect, collaborate, and create memories that last a lifetime. It’s going to be a symbol of what Catawba stands for: tradition and innovation, side by side,” said Greg Alcorn, who co-chairs the college’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. He is a 1979 graduate of Catawba and CEO of Global Contact Services, a call-center operator.
Founded in 1951, Catawba reported donations of $200 million in 2021, $42 million in 2022 and $200 million in 2024. That philanthropy is among the most significant of the state’s private colleges, many of which face financial pressure as the number of high school graduates plateaus and operating costs increase.
While the gifts were anonymous, various sources credit the generosity of the Stanbacks, who are longtime Salisbury residents. Fred Stanback is a billionaire whose family started a headache powder business while he was an early investor in college roommate Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.
President David Nelson said the project is “a powerful reminder of how generosity and vision can transform not only a building, but a campus. This project will stand at the very heart of campus life, a place where students will be known, supported, and inspired to imagine a future defined by purpose and possibility.”
Plans call for the building to meet rigorous standards for sustainability, including a public dashboard that will track its energy and water use. Edifice Construction and Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, both based in Charlotte, are leading the work.
The Smokestack is part of a record $90 million capital improvement plan, including a new residence hall, renovations to Stanback and Salisbury-Rowan Halls, and a geo-exchange system connecting more than two dozen campus buildings.
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.