Jefferson College renamed one of its buildings in honor of the college’s longest serving president.
The former “Technology Center” building was renamed the “B. Ray Henry Hall” at an Aug. 20 ceremony on the Hillsboro campus.
The building was the last one to be built during the presidency of Henry, who was the college’s second president, serving from 1970-1989.
A plaque with information highlighting the former president’s time at the college was placed inside the building.
Jefferson College President Dena McCaffrey called Henry’s accomplishments at the college “inspiring.”
“Dr. Henry is important to Jefferson College’s history, and what he has done for the college as president is inspiring,” she said. “This was the last building he built on our campus before he retired, and that has a lot of meaning to us. And the fact that we continue to offer technical programs in this building, continuing what he started, is just really special.”
McCaffrey said renaming the building will benefit the campus by eliminating students’ confusion regarding the names of buildings.
“We have the Career and Technical Education Building, and we have the Area Technical School,” she said. “As a student coming to Jefferson College, they would end up in the wrong building all the time. They would see technical or technology and not go to the right place for their classes.”
At the ceremony, Henry spoke about the building and its renaming.
“I love the college, and (I) will continue for years to come,” he said.
Also at the ceremony, current and former faculty members spoke about Henry’s impact.
Margie Passmore, Jefferson College Board of Trustees president, and Roger Barrentine, former director of public relations, spoke about their experiences attending the college while Henry was serving as president.
Both noted how personable and present Henry was as a Jefferson College president.
Before Barrentine’s retirement, he was tasked with creating a list of possible people who would be best suited to have campus buildings renamed after them. He said Henry along with Charles McClain were both at the top of his list.
Alicia Smith, director of talent acquisition and organizational design in the HR department at Jefferson College, also spoke about what it means to her to receive the Dr. B. Ray Henry Service/Innovation Award.
Smith was surprised when she received the award in August 2025.
“I was just doing what needed to be done and I didn’t feel like I was doing anything special,” she said. “It was an honor to be selected.”
Smith said it was a wonderful experience to speak in front of Henry at the ceremony as well as being able to have a one-on-one conversation with him afterwards.
Jefferson College history teacher and host of the Jefferson County History Minute Podcast, Joseph Thurman, spoke about Henry and his legacy with Jefferson College building innovation and lifelong support of education.