Muskegon Community College

Muskegon Community College campus

Muskegon Community College (MCC) is a community college in Muskegon, Michigan. Providing service to the lakeshore region of West Michigan, MCC is located near the shores of Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan. MCC serves a broad and diverse body of over 5,000 students, with an average age of 27 years, and offers 41 Associate Degree programs and 48 Certificate programs, known for their transferability and value.

MCC was founded as Muskegon Junior College in 1926, and has been continually accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association since 1929. The community college district was created via the Michigan Constitution of 1963 along with an elected Board of Trustees and the college moved to its current campus location, an Alden B. Dow designed facility that opened to the public in 1967. In 1995, the Stevenson Center for Higher Education opened; comprising a consortium of Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, and Western Michigan University, designed to increase access to educational opportunities for Muskegon residents. In 2010 the Outdoor Learning Lab, a focal point of green technology and center for MCC’s new Alternative and Renewable Energy certificate program opened. The college is currently located on a 111-acre campus in Muskegon, with extension centers in Fremont, Grand Haven, Newaygo and Whitehall.

Muskegon Community College
Established	1926
Type	community college
President	Dr.Dale Nesbary
Students	5,300 (Fall 2010)
Location	Muskegon, Michigan, United States
Campus	Urban
Colors	Royal Blue, Gold
Nickname	Jayhawks
Website	[1]

As defined by the Michigan Legislature, the official service area of Muskegon Community College includes territory within the following school districts:

• Muskegon Public Schools
• Muskegon Heights Public Schools
• North Muskegon Public Schools
• Orchard View Schools
• Oakridge Public Schools
• Reeths-Puffer Schools
• Holton Public Schools
• Montague Area Public Schools
• Ravenna Public Schools
• Whitehall District Schools
• Grand Haven Area Public Schools
• Spring Lake Public Schools
• Fruitport Community Schools
• Mona Shores School District

History

Muskegon Junior College was established by the Muskegon Board of Education in 1926 and was housed on the third floor of what was then the new Muskegon High School. It was a pioneering effort, since only four other two-year institutions existed in Michigan at the time.

By 1934, enrollment of both the College and the high school had grown beyond the capacity of a single building. The Junior College, therefore, moved into the former Hackley School in downtown Muskegon across from Hackley Park (now the Board of Education Building).

It was appropriate that the College should occupy the old Hackley building, which had been presented to the public schools of Muskegon by Charles Hackley after fire had destroyed the original Central School. The city’s First Citizen believed that a community was obliged to offer its youth the kind of training which would enable them to earn a good livelihood and at the same time contribute to the well-being of the community.

At the time of its move into this facility and for 17 years after, Muskegon Junior College was primarily geared to those students intending to complete at least four years of college. Muskegon’s reputation in this field of the "college transfer" program was an enviable one, and continues to be so today.

Then in June 1951, after an enabling act by the Michigan Legislature, the name and educational scope of the College was changed. "Muskegon Junior College" became "Muskegon Community College," thereby reflecting the expanded nature of the College’s programs.

They were broadened to serve a larger number of students with a wider variety of interests. Courses were added in retailing, the vocations, the technical fields, public health, and the trades. These courses enabled young men and women to prepare themselves for a specific field of employment in two years of training beyond high school. There was no shrinking of the transfer program, only an expanded curriculum to serve a larger segment of the community.

In the post World War II years, enrollment climbed quickly and the Community College "campus" had to grow accordingly. The Muskegon Board of Education, which still operated the College, utilized available space in many of its buildings, and rented other community facilities when enrollment exceeded the capacities of those buildings.

By the early 1960s, enrollment had topped 2,000 and the College was operating full-time at Hackley, Vanderlaan, and Wilson schools and part-time at eight other locations. The time had come for another step in the development of the College.

The Board of Education formed a Special Citizens Committee to study the entire program and make recommendations. The Committee proposed that the College be separated from the public school system, that a county-wide community college district be created, that a board of trustees be elected to plan, build, and operate the school, and that millage be voted in sufficient amount and for enough years to build and operate the College.

In April 1963, the county overwhelmingly approved the recommendations of the committee and elected the first Board of Trustees. The elected board went to work immediately and by September of that year had purchased the 111-acre (0.45 km²) campus on which the College exists today.

Alden B. Dow and Associates was named architect and by the summer of 1965 drawings were completed and construction begun. The Vocational-Technical Wing was completed and occupied in the fall of 1966 and the following September the entire complex was placed in service. Formal dedication ceremonies were held October 22, 1967, with Dr. Ashley Montagu, one of the world’s foremost anthropologists, delivering the dedicatory address.

The first addition to the new campus was the Frauenthal Foundation Fine Arts Center, completed in 1968 and named for the Muskegon industrialist whose gift had made the Center possible – A. Harold Frauenthal.

When the new district was created, the name of the College was changed to Muskegon County Community College; but in the spring of 1969, at the request of the Board of Trustees, the State Board of Education approved changing the name once again to Muskegon Community College. With an enrollment of nearly 5,000 students, the College exists today in its eighth decade of service to area citizens.

January 1995 opened a new era of educational opportunity with the completion of the Stevenson Center for Higher Education on the campus of Muskegon Community College. The Center houses upper level courses and programs offered by Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, and Western Michigan University.

These institutions, along with Muskegon Community College, have formed a "consortium" to coordinate offerings to meet the needs of West Michigan residents.

The 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m²) facility represents about one-third the size of the main building and was constructed to complement existing architecture. Attached to the main building near the Technical Wing, the James L. Stevenson Center for Higher Education contains the latest in communication technology with all of its 35 rooms connected via fiber optics for voice, video and data transmission. In addition to housing the educational programs of the consortium member institutions, the Center is also the new home for MCC's Media Center and Graphic Design program.

Newly opened in January 2006, the Hendrik Meijer Library Information Technology Center offers students and the community the latest in communication capabilities, including wireless Internet access, state-of-the-art library facilities/technologies and classrooms, and an Internet café. The 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m²) facility has three levels overlooking the woods and creek, and offers special services including interlibrary loan, photocopy machines, group study rooms, a quiet reading room, a workstation for visually impaired persons, and both group and individual orientations.

In 2010 the Outdoor Learning Center, featuring a green roof, opened to the public. The Center contains many alternative energy demonstration technologies, serving as a laboratory for MCC students enrolled in a certificate program for Wind and Solar Alternative Energy technologies.

Campus

The campus is located on the northwest corner of Marquette Ave. and Quarterline Rd., near the boundary of Muskegon, Michigan and Muskegon Township, Michigan. It extends westward towards Harvey Street along U.S. Highway 31, where the Muskegon Area Career Technical Center is located. University Park Golf Course is at the northeast corner of the intersection.

The Academic Complex was designed by Alden B. Dow. It features an enclosed court and two wings, with Four-Mile Creek flowing underneath.

The 111-acre (0.45 km²) campus includes the Technology Building, the Hendrik Meijer Library & Information Technology Center (opened January 2006), the Bartels-Rode Gymnasium, the Frauenthal Foundation Fine Arts Center with the Overbrook Theater and Art Gallery, the Stevenson Center for Higher Education, and an Art Building.

The main building has three levels: Level 1 is at ground level. Level 2 is below it. Level 3 is at the bottom.

Stevenson Center for Higher Education

The Stevenson Center for Higher Education opened in 1995, and celebrated its 15th Anniversary on November 11, 2010. Originally named the Muskegon Center for Higher Education, it was named in honor of the College President who spearheaded its construction.

The top floor houses a television studio, a computer laboratory, a conference room, a lecture hall, media services, graphics technology.

The middle floor houses conference rooms and classrooms.

The bottom floor houses classrooms.

In addition, the Center houses programs from the following universities.

• Ferris State University
• Grand Valley State University
• Western Michigan University

Muskegon Area Career Technical Center

The Career Technical Center houses K-12 vocational-technical programs in partnership with the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. It opened in 2005.

MCC-TV

Muskegon Community College operates a Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV station, available only on Comcast's Muskegon cable system on Channels 98, 44-5, and 902, or streaming online. It is called MCC-TV and part of the Media Services Department.

The studio is located in the Center for Higher Education. The college produces several television programs, including "A Novel Conversation", a current events talk show with MCC Instructors David Takitaki and Kurt Troutman; and "Timely Topics", hosted by Andy Wible; and the college's own sporting events.

The channel also plays Classic Arts Showcase and public access programs, including those from local school districts.

Online Radio

Lake FX Radio is an online radio station operated by the college.

Astronomy

Muskegon Community College owns a planetarium on campus and an observatory at the Muskegon County Wastewater System.

Athletics

Muskegon Community College athletic teams are nicknamed the "Jayhawks" and they field teams in Men's & Women's Basketball, Soccer, Cross Country, and Bowling, Men's Baseball, Golf and Wrestling, and Women's Softball and Tennis. The school's colors are Royal Blue & Gold, all indoor athletics take place in the Bartels-Rode Gymnasium. Golf is played at the school owned "University Park Golf Course", while tennis is played at courts owned by the school, and baseball and softball are played on a baseball field also owned by the college.

MCC competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XII.

National Championships:

• 1963: Men's Cross Country - NJCAA
• 1964: Men's Cross Country - NJCAA
• 1970: Wrestling - NJCAA
• 2010: Softball - NJCAA

Club Sports National Championships:

• 2003: Men's Ice Hockey - ACHA Division III

Notable alumni

• Elmer L. Andersen former Governor of Minnesota, Past President and owner of HB Fuller Company

• David Takitaki 2003-2004 - MCC Instructor, television personality on MCC's TV 98, writer, doctoral candidate and community activist

• Jesse Bruce 1994-1996 - Award-winning broadcast journalist and longtime Grand Haven, Michigan Radio personality for WGHN FM 92.1 / AM 1370

External links

• Muskegon Community College
• Muskegon Area Career Technical Center