Montgomery College

For the community college near Conroe, Texas, see Lone Star College–Montgomery.

Montgomery College
Motto	Endless Possibilities
Established	1946
Type	Community College
President	Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard
Students	Nearly 60,000 credit and noncredit students
Location	Montgomery County, Maryland, USA 39°05′53″N 77°09′33″W / 39.09818°N 77.15906°W / 39.09818; -77.15906Coordinates: 39°05′53″N 77°09′33″W / 39.09818°N 77.15906°W / 39.09818; -77.15906
Campus	Campuses in Germantown, Rockville and Takoma Park/Silver Spring
Former names	Montgomery Junior College
Website	http://www.montgomerycollege.edu

Montgomery College is a public, open access community college located in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. in the United States. The college has three campuses, the largest of which is in Rockville; the other campuses are in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Germantown. Off-campus sites include the Business Training Center in Gaithersburg and Westfield South in Wheaton, which are operated by the college's Workforce Development and Continuing Education division.

Montgomery College has an enrollment of nearly 60,000 credit and noncredit students.^[1] Of the Montgomery County Public Schools graduates who choose to stay in Maryland for college, 60% attend Montgomery College within the following academic year.^[2] The college is noted as being one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse in the nation, with students from over 170 countries enrolled. The college also employs more than 1,500 faculty members.

History

The college was organized in 1946 as "Montgomery Junior College," with its campus located at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. In 1950, the college moved to Takoma Park, absorbing the Bliss Electrical School, which had occupied the site.

The Rockville Campus opened in 1965; the Germantown Campus opened in 1975 and has occupied its present permanent site since 1978. Montgomery College also offers learning opportunities through its extensive Workforce Development and Continuing Education programs.

The Takoma Park Campus began expanding into neighboring Silver Spring, with the opening of a new Health Sciences Center in January 2004. The campus expansion in Silver Spring included the addition of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Arts Center, which opened in fall 2007. The building houses the campus visual arts programs and the School of Art + Design, formerly the Maryland College of Art and Design, which merged with Montgomery College in September 2004. To reflect the campus expansion into Silver Spring, the Board of Trustees officially renamed the Takoma Park campus as the "Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus" in June 2005.^[3]

Academic curricula and programs

Montgomery College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.^[4] It offers two-year associate's degrees and a variety of professional certificates and letters of recognition. The degrees offered are Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.), Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.), Associate of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T.), and Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.). Graduates of two-year degree programs typically transfer to four-year colleges and universities.^{[citation needed]}

The Rockville campus offers more than 600 courses in more than 40 curricula. The Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus is known for its nursing and allied health science career programs, and the Germantown campus is known for its science programs, including computer science and biotechnology.

All three campuses are served by the Montgomery College Libraries system, which has a location at each campus.

Honors programs

Some of Montgomery College's most accomplished honors programs are listed below:

• General Honors Program
• Renaissance Scholars Program (at Germantown and Takoma Park/Silver Spring)
• Montgomery Scholars Program (at Rockville)
• Macklin Business Institute

Other programs and services

• MC/MCPS Partnership
• Paul Peck Humanities Institute
• Phi Theta Kappa National Honors Society (ΦΘΚ or PTK)
• School of Art and Design (SA+D)

Athletics

Each Montgomery College campus has its own athletic teams. The athletic teams are known as the Knights: Rockville Campus, Falcons: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, and Gryphons: Germantown Campus, and compete in the NJCAA.

The basketball/volleyball arena, Knights Arena in Rockville, was home to the Maryland Nighthawks of the Premier Basketball League for the 2007 season, before the team moved to Georgetown Preparatory School Field House.

The baseball field, Knights Field, is the home field of the Rockville Express, a member of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League.^[5]

National championships

The Knights women's tennis team won the NJCAA Division III National Championship in 2001 and again in 2006.^[6] Montgomery College-Rockville golfer Brent Davis won the NJCAA Division III Individual Championship in 2005 with a score of 288.^[7]

Budget

Montgomery College's fiscal year 2008 tax-supported operating budget is $197.4 million with funding from Montgomery County, the state of Maryland, and student tuition and fees.^[8]

Montgomery College Foundation

The Montgomery College Foundation is a 501(c)(3) (tax-exempt) charitable organization governed by business, alumni and community members.^[9] The Foundation, with assets of $61,297,513, according to the 2006 IRS 990 form, also helps fund the college, placing it among the top five community colleges in the nation in private funding.

Sarah Silberman Art Gallery

In 2008, Montgomery College named its Rockville campus gallery the Sarah Silberman Art Gallery. In addition to donating $500,000 for its complete renovation, Sarah Silberman funded two endowed scholarships in ceramics and sculpture.^[10][11][12]

Student Excellence Expo

The Student Excellence Expo is a one-day event scheduled to showcase for the entire college and the community what Montgomery College students are learning. It is unique because it includes presentations from students throughout the college, including transfer, career, credit, non-credit, curricular, co-curricular, honors, developmental, and American English Language Program students.

The exposition started in 2008 with 25 groups at the Takoma Park campus.^[13] The second expo took place in the Goldenrod building of the Germantown campus.^[14] The 3rd expo was held on April 9, 2010 at the Rockville campus.^[15]

Notable features and alumni of Montgomery College

Montgomery College has served nearly 450,000 credit students since its founding in 1946.^[2] Among the College's notable alumni are:

• Tori Amos - singer/songwriter
• The Blair Witch Project Creators/Production Team
  • Eduardo Sánchez ’90 - Co-director and Co-writer
  • Neal Fredericks ’89 - Cinematography
• Barbara Walsh - Broadway shows and a Tony Award nomination
• Rick Leventhal - Correspondent, Fox News
• Jerome Williams - former NBA basketball player
• Morgan Wootten - "Mr. High School Basketball"
• Paul James - Television and film actor

Notes

1. ^ Montgomery College. Montgomery College Fall 2006 Enrollment Report
2. ^ ^{a b} Montgomery College. "Montgomery College At a Glance." Accessed 2010-07-13.
3. ^ Montgomery College. Montgomery College Announcement of Campus Name Change
4. ^ Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Philadelphia, PA. "Institution Directory." Accessed 2010-07-13.
5. ^ Rockville Express official web site
6. ^ NJCAA Division III Women's Tennis Record Book
7. ^ NJCAA Division III Men's Golf Record Book
8. ^ Montgomery College Budget Office
9. ^ Montgomery College. "Montgomery College Foundation."
10. ^ Holly, Joe. "Sarah Silberman; Sculptor, College Benefactor". The Washington Post. June 2, 2008.
11. ^ Crisostomo, Contessa. "Montgomery College Dedicates Art Gallery to Alumna." Gazette. February 27, 2008.
12. ^ Jewish Women's Archive
13. ^ Montgomery College. "Student Excellence Expo: SEE 2008."
14. ^ "SEE 2009 Photo Gallery"
15. ^ "SEE 2010

External links

• Montgomery College - Official site
• My MC portal