| Flint -- At age 79, Lulu J. Johnson will tell you she's seen it all.
"I've lived through every war except World War I and the Civil War," she jokes.
But a $35-million technology center on the Mott Community College campus -- that's something she hadn't seen until Tuesday.
Johnson was among former students and staff who attended a dedication ceremony for the Regional Technology Center.
"I was at the groundbreaking for this building," said Johnson, who took classes at the then-Flint Junior College in the 1940s. "It's beautiful. I think it's an opportunity, especially for young people who want to pick up skills or a degree. They don't have to leave home to get a good college education."
The ceremony was dotted with dramatic effect, from the presentation of the building's new name, the Dale E. Kildee and William S. White Building, to the release of white doves, all to the sound of bagpipes.
"I feel like Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon," said Lenore Croudy, the MCC trustee board chairwoman. "It is one great leap for the community college, faculty, staff and students, and most importantly, to the community."
The center is the 16th of 18 Michigan technical education centers set to open throughout the state.
Rep. Kildee, D-Flint, heralded the new center as the bridge to Flint's future as a technology hub.
"It's a quantum leap, advancing the state in technology," Kildee said. "Flint is becoming a technology hub with Kettering University and UM-Flint, and now this."
It's the second building named for White, president of the Mott Foundation, this year, following the opening of the White Building on the University of Michigan-Flint campus.
Under White's leadership, the Mott Foundation donated almost $5 million in site preparation for the Regional Technology Center and $1.7 million toward curriculum development.
"It's not every day you get to share this honor with someone of Dale Kildee's stature," White said.
After the dedication, guests gathered inside to munch on sandwiches at cloth-draped tables in the center's 11,000-square-foot, high-bay manufacturing lab, which houses a 10-ton overhead crane.
Also open for touring was the 120-seat, state-of-the-art multi-media/teleconferencing auditorium.
"You've got to see it," said Admissions Director Marc Payne, pointing to the lap-top connections at each desk, and the plasma screen that allows instructors to send notes directly to student lap tops.
"The days of assigning students to read chapters one through 18 are gone," Payne said. "Today's students want to see it."
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Shena Abercrombie can be reached at (810) 766-6307 or sabercrombie@flintjournal.com. | 
