Tooele Technical College outlines expansion, new logo and student success at council meeting

Tooele Technical College President Paul Hacking told the Tooele City Council on Jan. 15 that construction phases for the college’s program space are advancing and that the college is preparing program additions contingent on funding. "Phase 3 and 4 and 5 ... will hold room for composites and our CDL program," Hacking said, and added the diesel lab will be completed in a few months to triple diesel mechanics space.

Hacking said the college received legislative funding last year — a $2,500,000 appropriation that will help double programmatic space — and that additional legislative support would be needed to add new programs such as machining, plumbing and expanded welding. He told the council the college had been awarded earlier legislative funding that helped get a permanent building three years ago and that the new funds are enabling the current expansion.

Hacking also announced a planned ribbon-cutting ceremony in March once a date can be finalized with the governor’s office, and said the college hopes to host a public event at the diesel lab with an elected-officials and donors luncheon beforehand. He told the council the college is pursuing contiguous land to support longer-term growth but that a recent owner decision has delayed that acquisition.

A new logo and brand rollout were shown to the council. Hacking described the design elements — an arrowhead shape, an upward point, a mountain ridge profile and a spark — and said the committee that selected the design reviewed more than 250 variations.

The college introduced its 2024 student of the year, Lorenzo de Grafenreid, who described his path from an early interest in computers to returning to school in December 2023 through Tooele Technical College’s open-entry software development program. "Nothing beats a failure, but a try," Lorenzo said, quoting an axiom he credited to family influence.

Hacking said program delivery has at times been constrained by construction impacts and equipment issues (including boiler control problems), but that the college expects expanded capacity when current projects complete. He also reported growth in the college’s police academy enrollment and said recent grants and legislative attention to technical education were favorable to the college’s plans.

The presentation closed with an invitation to the council to attend the ribbon cutting once a date is set and a request that the council consider assistance if future land purchase opportunities arise.