Johnston Community College - Retrospect Yearbook (Smithfield, NC)

Page 9 text:

« CHANGES On September 13, 1976, students began classes on the new campus. Completion of three additional buildings added 30,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space. Johnston Technical Institute was fully accredited by the North Carolina State Board of Education on July 7 , 1977 and by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools on December 13, 1977. On June 2, 1980 the Johnston County Board of Commissioners acted to change the official name of Johnston Technical Institute to Johnston Technical College. During 1981, enrollment exceeded 2,500 full-time students. Buildings and facilities were being utilized to a practical maximum, and plans were developed to construct 17,500 square feet of space consisting of laboratories, classrooms and faculty office space to house Diesel Mechanics, a Machine Shop and Truck Driver Training. Construction of this facility was completed in early 1983. The North Carolina Truck Driver Training School was relocated to the Smithfield campus. 5

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GROWTH . . . Adult high school classes were offered and a new industry training program was initiated at Chicopee Manufacturing Company in Benson in December, 1969. General Office Technology was the Institute’s first full-time, on-campus program. The Institute climaxed its first year of operation by holding Adult High School Graduation exercises on August 26, 1970 with b-8 graduates. Johnston County Technical Institute was changed by the Board of Trustees to Johnston Technical Institute in January, 1971. That August, the Institute held its first graduation of 31 curriculum students. Dramatic growth in student population increased the need for a permanent campus. On December b, 1971 a one-hundred acre tract of land, located near the intersection of Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 70 was purchased. The first major building provided 51,000 square feet and was named the Wilson Building for the Institute’s first Chairman of the Board of Trustees. U

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EXPANSION . . . A new addition to the Wilson Building was completed in the Spring of 1985. This addition provided facilities for a computer center, several additional classrooms, and a much-yieeded enlarged student lounge. In August, 1987, the Trustees and Johnston County Board of Commissioners acted to change the official name of Joh nston Technical College to Johnston Community College. Construction was begun in October, 1987 on a Learning Resources Center building ( adjacent to the Wilson Building) which will feature a new library and 1,000-seat auditorium for College and community use.