(Above) Administrators, Board of Trustees members and VIPs dedicate the Anthony Peterson Center for Academic Assistance at Spring Creek Campus. Peterson (center in red) is an adjunct professor at Collin College.
Students who need assistance with math and writing will notice something new this semester. The academic assistance centers at each of the college’s major campuses have been named in honor of Anthony Peterson.
An associate professor of math at the Spring Creek Campus, Peterson provided a $150,000 endowment to the Collin College Foundation. The facilities were rechristened in honor of that significant donation, the interest from which will provide scholarships for Collin students every year going forward.
A reception honoring Peterson’s generosity was held Aug. 10 at the Spring Creek Campus location, at which Peterson noted his elation at being able to provide the gift. He said the money for the donation came largely from mineral rights payments made on land that has been in his family for generations. Peterson noted that his family has been in Southwest Denton County since his great-grandfather moved to the area from Sweden in the early 1870s.
“I am just grateful for being able to help the college and the students,” Peterson said. “It was my privilege to do this.”
Peterson is a former software engineer, who retired from Raytheon and decided to give back to higher education with his time as well as his money. After retirement, he decided to return to one of his early loves, teaching.
“When I was a teaching assistant at North Texas, one of the tasks you had to do was work in the math lab,” he said. “I just found that I enjoyed it. I enjoyed helping the students.”
He later added, “This has been a rewarding change from engineering. I can do something that I enjoy and also give back to the community.”
Bill Cox, immediate past chair of the Collin College Foundation board, noted the foundation’s appreciation of the gift and pleasure at being able to facilitate the naming opportunity. This is the eighth facility named in honor of a foundation patron.
“We could not be more honored to salute Anthony’s foresight in creating this legacy for students,” Cox said. “On behalf of the Collin College Foundation, thank you for making a tremendous difference in the lives of students.”