We All Have a History

Most college campuses and higher education centers have a story to tell. I work for Southern State Community College nestled in the southwest corner of Ohio on the outskirts of the Appalachian foothills. Being the Public Historian I am I started digging into Southern State’s past. How did we start? What changes have we gone through? How are we important to the five counties we service? After poking around our public relations and marketing department I was able to find out this information, and even though Souther State is not even 40 years old we have a pretty interesting story to tell.

Southern State Community College was chartered in February of 1975 under the name Southern State General and Technical College. The college serves Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette, and Highland counties. Recognition of the college came in April of ’75 when the University Of Cincinnati Board Of Trustees gave its support to the college district which included the University’s Tri-County Academic Center. In 1977 the name officially changed to Southern State Community College.

The first official campus opened in Fincastle located in Brown County for the academic year 1976-77 and the former North Campus opened in the renovated Clinton County Air Force base buildings. The college was ever growing and in March of 1981 the Central Campus in Hillsboro opened moving all administration to the Central Campus location. The Central Campus opened for academics in the fall of 1985 and the birth of one of our most well recognized programs, the practical nursing program, created a milestone in the college’s history. The Central Campus was completed in 1985 as a 10^th anniversary tribute to the ten years the college had serviced the five county area.

Growth and expansion did not stop in the 80’s. More programs were being added and the addition of the new North Campus facility in Wilmington in 2000 and the Fayette Campus in Washington Court House in 2009 completed the four campus locations that Southern State currently offers. In addition to new campuses being built, the Southern State Patriots received their home in March of 2005 with the completed of the 2500 seat capacity arena known as the Patriot Center, which not only plays host to home basketball and volleyball games but also graduation exercises, expos, concerts, and other community events (and is where my office is located).

In May of 2006 Southern State received accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. SSCC was one of the first community colleges in Ohio to develop an accredited transfer program, allowing students to earn the first two years of a bachelor’s degree. Southern State has had five presidents in the history of the college. Southern State continues to service the five county area with quality education and training programs.  Southern State might be young compared to larger institutions but it has had a tremendous impact on the local communities and continues to do so.

 

Sources for this blog:

Southern State Community College Public Relations and Marketing Department

Southern State Community College website: www.sscc.edu/about/history