CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE opened in Sept. 1963, 2 years after the Ohio legislature passed enabling legislation to create a statewide system of community colleges. Tri-C was designed to meet the need for low-cost, convenient, skill-oriented career and academic training among minorities, women, older students, and displaced workers. Following state action, the Cuyahoga County commissioners established the Cuyahoga Community College Dist. in Oct. 1961, and by Dec. 1962 the college was chartered under the leadership of its first president, Dr. Chas. Chapman. Facilities were first located in the old Brownell School Bldg. at Brownell Ct. and E. 14th St., where 3,039 students enrolled in the fall of 1963. Aided by a levy passed in late 1963, the college expanded to other buildings and began planning a permanent home. The downtown Metropolitan Campus opened in 1966, while the permanent Western Campus in PARMA was built in 1975. The Eastern Campus was opened at Harvard and Richmond roads in Warrensville Twp. (now HIGHLAND HILLS VILLAGE) in 1981. Planning for the 3 campuses was centralized at the district office at 700 Carnegie Ave.

In line with the varied goals and levels of preparation of CCC students, the college offers freshman- and sophomore-level academic coursework that can be transferred to a 4-year college; developmental education to compensate for deficiencies in reading, grammar, and math; and career programs in allied health fields, engineering technologies, business, and public service. Graduates receive an associate degree. Those taking work in fields such as dental hygiene, registered nursing, medical assisting, and occupational therapy assisting are prepared for state certification and licensing. In addition to the degree programs, CCC offers off-campus general courses, noncredit courses for professional improvement and hobbies, and TV courses that can be taken for credit. Campus facilities are also open to the community, and all campuses offer cultural events. Following the recession of 1980, with its many layoffs in heavy industry, CCC entered the retraining field for the unemployed and the skills-obsolescent. In 1986 the college opened a state-funded Unified Technologies Ctr. adjacent to the Metropolitan Campus that was to provide modern training facilities for business, industry, government, and labor. In academic year 1994-95, Cuyahoga Community College had an enrollment of nearly 25,000 students. Full-time faculty, represented by the American Assn. of Univ. Professors, numbered about 400, with part-time faculty hired each quarter as needed. In 1995 Dr. Jerry Sue Thornton was president of Cuyahoga Community College.

Miggins, Edward. Responding to the Challenge: Cuyahoga Community College, 1963-1988 (1989).

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