Founded in 1965, Cloud County Community College has been the cornerstone of higher education in North Central Kansas for almost 60 years.
Since their inception, community colleges have played a vital role in ongoing education. Community colleges are a cost-effective way to open the door to more expensive four-year colleges. Although academic preparation remains the core function of community colleges, on an operative level, these institutions also play a significant role in their communities with workforce employment and local and regional economic development.
Community colleges provide cost-effective access to education and vocational training. As tuition costs increase year after year, community colleges remain a crucial first-step option in ongoing education. Nationwide, on average, a community college student pays just $4,209 a year in tuition. In contrast, the average annual tuition at a public four-year college is nearly $27,000, and private colleges cost even more.
Community college students can take advantage of convenient campus locations, open admissions, and comprehensive course offerings. These colleges also offer vocational courses that prepare students for careers.
The first community college in the United States - Joliet Community College in Illinois — was founded in 1901. Nationwide enrollment was low until the Great Depression in the 1930s when community colleges began to provide job training programs as a way to ease widespread unemployment. The trend toward job training continued through the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s, baby boomers began reaching college age, and community college enrollments soared. Many new public community colleges were built during the 1960s, and Cloud County Junior College (CCJC) was one of them.
There have always been colleges in Concordia, almost from the town's inception in 1871. Most of the colleges only lasted a year or two before they folded. The Concordia Normal and Business College was founded in 1906 and thrived for several decades. The hardships and financial crisis of the Great Depression forced that college to close its doors in 1933. There were no other colleges in Concordia until CCJC was established in 1965.
But it almost didn't happen.
Since the mid-1950s, Concordia's community leaders and citizens had been earnestly discussing the possibility of starting another college in town. On February 10, 1961, a town hall meeting was held at the National Guard Armory. Floyd Herr, the Director of Certification for the Kansas State Department of Education, told the crowd that Concordia was an ideal location for a junior college.
A steering committee was formed to pursue the idea. Members included Stewart Wells of Miltonvale, Bill Ransopher of Clyde, Don Hutchinson of Jamestown, Jean Noel of Glasco, Concordians John Peck, Charles Moss, Hugh Emerich, Lee Doyen, Ron Elwell, Arley Bryant, Harold Clark, Leon Gennette, Ross Doyen, Marvin Brummett, Brad Lowell, Bill Walsh, and Dean Williams.
But then, in 1963, community leaders and college proponents shifted their attention to establishing a vocational trade school in Concordia. In 1964 Concordia applied for the right to build the school, but ultimately, the school was awarded to the town of Beloit.
Concordia returned to its goal of establishing a junior college. That year a Blade-Empire story stated: "Arley Bryant has been secured as coordinator to prepare information regarding the establishment of a two-year college in Concordia."
Since no public funds were available, it was necessary to raise $2000 in private financing to get the ball rolling. First National Bank donated the first $100 to the effort. The entire town was divided into block zones and volunteers Dr. Hugh Hattan, Dale Swenson, Richard Culbertson, Art Slaughter, Leon Gennette, Vernon Nelson, Wayne Goddard, John Peck, Wilson Carlgren, Brad Lowell, Leo Forsberg, Charles Montgomery, Glen Winter, Jim Ganson, Robert Weigand, and Orrin Gould canvassed the block zones soliciting townspeople for donations.
On December 29, 1964, over 900 people attended a public meeting in the high school auditorium and voiced their overwhelming support for the establishment of a junior college in Concordia. The University of Kansas sent a certified letter to the steering committee stating that it would accept "transfer credits" from the new junior college, thereby assuring that other major colleges would also accept the credits of CCJC students.
In a special election held on January 26, 1965, area residents voted to approve the establishment of a junior college in Concordia by a 14-1 margin.
On February 18, 1965, the first classes of the new Cloud County Junior College began. Frank Lingo of Ames was the first student to enroll at CCJC. In his book titled 'Forty-Five And Counting: a history 1965-2010', Dr. James Douglass wrote of an exchange between CCJC and Lingo regarding his tuition for the school year: "Thank you, Mr. Lingo, your tuition will be $30 for your 12 hour semester load."
Because there was no actual college site, classes were held at the Concordia High School. 15 teachers taught a collective 622 semester credit hours to 120 students.
On March 26, 1966, Senator Frank Carlson and Kansas Gov. William Avery were on hand for a groundbreaking ceremony at what would be the new site of the CCJC, on 45 acres of land south of Concordia that was purchased from Charles and Isabelle Blosser.
The college officially welcomed students to the new campus for the 1968 fall semester. The architecture of the main campus is that of "pods" which are designed to evoke the rolling hills of the area. The college held an open house on October 27, 1968, and the college newspaper 'The Thunor' reported that an estimated 3000 people from 80 cities in five states toured the college.
In 1980, by legislative enactment, the designation "Junior" was dropped from all two-year colleges in Kansas, and the institution's name was legally changed to Cloud County Community College (CCCC).
In the 1970s and 1980s community colleges saw a surge in enrollments that outpaced the enrollment growth of educational institutions offering bachelor’s degrees. Enrollment at public 4-year colleges and universities roughly doubled from 1965 to 1999, while enrollment at public community colleges increased fivefold.
As of 2021, Cloud County Community College's Concordia campus is made up of four buildings grouped together on three levels and connected by a central library. Also, Tech West houses the Nursing Department and the Child Care Center. In 2021, the college added an 8,000 square foot Agriculture facility on the south edge of campus. The building will be used to meet the needs of the growing Ag program and provide space for the Precision Ag equipment, classroom instruction, educational opportunities for the community, and livestock shows and competitions. There are currently 14 campus apartment buildings, and Thunder Heights, a three-story, 78-person building that offers private and semi-private rooms.
CCCC offers 12 programs of study and numerous online courses and has strong relations with high schools in its 12-county service area. High school students can also take advantage of the Career and Technical Education Act with allows high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors to enroll at CCCC.
In January 1998, CCCC opened its Geary County campus, in Junction City. The campus provides a full curriculum of courses and degree programs designed to transfer to other colleges and universities.
CCCC is home to the first Wind Energy Technology program in Kansas and uses both wind, solar and geothermal energy to operate portions of the campus electrical system.
In April of 2010, the Cloud Power Wind Farm was commissioned. The wind farm has two Northwind 100 wind turbines that, at peak performance, can generate 350 kilowatts of electricity. The wind farm also provides an on-site laboratory for students enrolled in the Wind Energy Technology program. The Sun Power Solar Farm was commissioned in November 2018, and consists of up to 300 kilowatts of solar panels. Electricity produced by the solar farm is worth about $42,000 per year.
Shortly after the turbines were brought online, the college initiated a switch from gas-fired boilers to a geothermal system using 99 wells drilled to 400 feet deep. On an average day, the system is completely powered by the wind and solar farms, which offsets the college's electricity and natural gas costs.
CCCC has had a long and sustained success in its athletic departments. The athletic teams are known as the Thunderbirds (men) and Lady Thunderbirds (women). CCCC has been NJCAA national champions in women's basketball, 2001; men's soccer, 2010; Men's Outdoor Track and Field, 2019; and Men's Cross Country, 2019.
Presidents of CCJC and CCCC have been: Arley Bryant 1968-1975; Dr. James Ihrig 1976-1997; Charles Hein 1998-2000; Dr. George Knox 2000-2005; Dr. Richard Underbakke 2005-2010; Dr. Dannette Toone 2010-2017; Dr. Mark Smith 2018-2018; Dr. Adrian Douglas 2018-2020; Amber Knoettgen 2020-Present.
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2221 Campus Drive
Concordia, KS 66901
631 Caroline Ave.
Junction City, KS 66441
800-729-5101