Hopkinsville Community College will be renaming the lecture hall in the Auditorium building in honor of the college’s first president, Dr. Thomas L. Riley.
According to a news release, the college will give announcement and unveil new signage on November 27—Giving Tuesday—at 12:30 p.m. Several members of Dr. Riley’s family are expected to attend, including his wife, Margaret Riley. The naming is in honor of gifts made to the college by the Hopkinsville Rotary Club, of which Riley served as president of in 1969.
President Dr. Alissa Young says, “Dr. Riley saw the college grow from 220 students in 1965 to approximately 2,000 at his retirement in 1989, and began his work from the basement of an office on West Ninth Street while the college was being constructed. here are so many wonderful memories of Dr. Riley that have been shared down through the years, and we know it was his grit and determination that helped to successfully launch the college.”
The college will host the Hopkinsville Rotary Club meeting on November 27, and the unveiling and reception will immediately follow at 12:30 p.m. in the Gallery of the Auditorium Building. Giving Tuesday at HCC will launch that day with an end of year campaign for the college’s student emergency fund.