Terry and Cheryl Holden of Molalla have given $10 million to Clackamas Community College through two separate $5 million donations.
Their latest gift, announced in June, will help fund the Holden Natural Resources Center, a 38,000-square-foot facility on the college's Oregon City campus. The building will house hands-on training programs in horticulture, water and environmental technology, arboriculture, organic farming, landscape management and wildland firefighting, according to the college.
The center is part of a $120 million bond measure Clackamas County voters approved in November 2024.
Construction is scheduled to begin in winter 2027, with a grand opening planned for spring 2028, according to The Clackamas Print, which first reported on the couple's story.
The facility will include specialized labs, teaching gardens and an indoor tree-climbing lab for arboriculture students.
Only one other college in the country has a comparable lab, according to the college. The center is being developed in partnership with Oregon State University's Clackamas County Extension Service.
Terry Holden said the donations reflect a commitment to the communities that shaped his life. He grew up in Molalla, where he worked in his father's garage alongside local loggers and truckers. Cheryl Holden grew up in Estacada.
Holden said his father gave him the toughest jobs on purpose. "My dad, he knew he didn't want me hanging around there after I got out of high school," Holden told The Clackamas Print. "So he would tell everybody to give me the worst jobs possible."
After graduating from Molalla High School, Holden received a scholarship from timber company Crown Zellerbach that covered roughly half his education costs. He said the experience stuck with him.
Holden worked in accounting and spent about 15 years involved with Oregon State University, including serving on its foundation executive committee.
About a decade ago, a high school friend introduced him to Clackamas Community College. He and Cheryl initially focused on scholarships for students from Molalla, Estacada and Colton.
The couple's first $5 million gift in 2021 established the Holden Career and Technical Education (CTE) Capital Projects Fund. That donation supported the Holden Industrial Technology Center and provided scholarships for CTE students and funding for student veterans. The Holdens have also donated to the college's Health Sciences Department, including an ambulance simulator, and gave $150,000 to the Automotive Department to purchase vehicles for students, according to the college.
Holden said the goal is straightforward: help students gain skills that lead to good jobs. He said three factors shaped the couple's support: the quality of CCC's programs, trust in college leaders and their ties to Clackamas County.
CCC President Tim Cook said the Holdens' gifts will expand opportunities for students in career and technical education, according to a college statement.
The new building will sit near the Environmental Learning Center, across the road from Clairmont Hall, on the site of an existing storage barn, according to public information officer Lori Hall. It will feature more than 8,000 square feet of teaching gardens, irrigation training areas and permeable paving demonstration zones.
