Kilgore College received a substantial donation from Billy and Kay Torrence for the naming rights of the college’s new health science educational facility. The official name of the structure – the Torrence Health Science Education Center — was unveiled at a special ceremony June 18.
The Torrences were recognized for their generosity at the ceremony.
“This facility will be a constant reminder of the Torrences’ dedication to this community and the well-being of others. The Torrence name will stand proudly as a testament to the power of philanthropy and the lives it transforms,” said Dr. Brenda Kays, KC president. “With the Torrences’ support, the new health science education facility is poised to make a monumental difference in East Texas and beyond.”
The new facility, located at 1610 S. Henderson Blvd. in Kilgore, will be completed in July and ready for health science classes during the fall semester.
The Torrence Health Science Education Center will be the first-of-its-kind for a community college – located adjacent to a working hospital and emergency room – training health science students in nursing, physical therapy assistant and medical imaging programs.
CHRISTUS Good Shepherd, the Roy H. Laird Memorial Hospital Foundation, the City of Kilgore and KC collaborated on the entire development, to be called the Roy H. Laird Health Science Center.
The project will include new classrooms and state-of-the-art lab facilities for KC’s health science programs on the south side of the complex, as well as the expansion of CHRISTUS Good Shepherd’s footprint near the existing Emergency Center.
PHOTO: Kay and Billy Torrence unveil the artistic rendering June 18 (2024) of what the Torrence Health Science Education Center will look like once completed. Photo by Rachel Stallard/KC