Forest Mahan provides updates on Aiken Tech's upcoming Career and Technology Center

ERIN WEEKS, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Jan. 6—Aiken Technical College President Forest Mahan spoke about next steps regarding the upcoming Career and Technology Center at a State of the College Dinner with Aiken County Legislative Delegation on Thursday night.

The new center will be available for use by Aiken County Public School District students, thanks to the partnership created between the college and the school district in June 2023. This facility will allow students to develop technical skills and explore career pathways prior to graduation.

Mahan and the Aiken County Public School District's soon to retire superintendent, King Laurence, have plans to go before the Joint Bond Review Committee (JBRC) and the State Fiscal Accountability Authority (SFAA) on Jan. 24 and 30, respectively.

These meetings will authorize a 60-year lease for the ACPSD to use the space on Aiken Tech's property. Meeting with the SFAA is contingent on a successful outcome at the JBRC meeting.

According to Mahan, these are hopefully the last hurdles to jump before the project can move forward.

The school has already cleared the way for this campus improvement with the paving of a flat space on which the 90 by 100,000 square foot facility will be constructed. This area was once occupied by the college's 400 and 500/600 buildings.

According to Mahan, this marks the first time in the college's history that renovations of this capacity have been made.

The Career and Technology Center is still on track to be completed by July 2025.

Joe Lewis, chairman of the Aiken Technical College Commission, said, "This is a transformational time. In my tenure on the commission I've never seen it, where we've had this kind of activity going on."

Mahan highlighted other campus updates, such as the school's rebranding efforts which include a new slogan and logo.

"We've got a lot of great stuff going there [that] is really transforming the college," said Mahan. "We look very different than we did a year ago, and we're going to look very different a year from now."