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Montgomery College

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Coordinates: 39°05′53″N 77°09′33″W / 39.09818°N 77.15906°W / 39.09818; -77.15906
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For the colleges in Pennsylvania and Texas, respectively, see Montgomery County Community College and Lone Star College–Montgomery.

Montgomery College
Coat of arms
Former names
Montgomery Junior College
MottoMake Your Move
TypePublic community college
EstablishedAugust 20, 1946; 78 years ago (1946-08-20)
AccreditationMSCHE
PresidentDr. Charlene Mickens Dukes
Studentsc. 55,000 credit and noncredit students
Location
Montgomery County
,
Maryland
,
United States

39°05′53″N 77°09′33″W / 39.09818°N 77.15906°W / 39.09818; -77.15906
CampusCampuses in
Colors  Purple
  Silver
MascotRaptors (2012—)
WebsiteMontgomeryCollege.edu

Montgomery College (MC) is a public community college in Montgomery County, Maryland. Founded officially in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College, it's name comes from the county in which is resides, which in turn pulls the name from American Revolutionary War Major general Richard Montgomery.

The college has three campuses, the largest of which is in Rockville. Its other campuses are in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Germantown. Its 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.

History

19th Century

The Bliss Electrical School was a private, for-profit institution in Takoma Park, Maryland. Established in 1893 and named after it's founder Dr. Louis D. Bliss. It's first class was on October 15, 1893 in a single room on the third flood of Water Building at the corner of Ninth and Ebbs Street. It was a night class with twenty-six students, including Thomas E. Robertson who would later go on to be the United States Commissioner of Patents. The capital investment in the school was $400, representing an advance payment of $20 each from twenty men. Two years later in 1895, Charles Francis Jenkins, of moving picture and television fame, enrolled as a student at Bliss.[1]

20th Century

W. B. Connelly, a 1904 graduate of Bliss, had charge for the General Electric Company at Schenectady of the inspection of some two miles of switchboards for the control of the Panama Canal electric installation. Before going to the GE company, Mr. Connelly was on the staff at Bliss, and instructed Mr. Skipwith B. Cole, then a student, and later dean of the faculty at Bliss. On November 6, 1908, the entire plant of the Bliss Electrical School, at Takoma Park was destroyed by fire and it had to relocate to a new position. The Honorable William Jennings Bryant, Secretary of State, addressed the graduating class of the Bliss Electrical School in the church auditorium in the Calvary Baptist Church on June 3, 1914. In 1917, the United States entered the first World War. By special permission granted by the War Department, the Bliss Electrical School organized a searchlight company of engineers consisting of fifty-seven men from the 1917 class, headed by Lt. Clyde K. Krisee of the faculty, and under Major [John C.] Gotwals of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army. This company went overseas with the First Division of the American Expeditionary Forces. These men were used for instruction purposes in a searchlight school in Paris. All returned safely to this country after the war save one, who was killed in an automobile accident in Paris. The captured German searchlight, which adorns this campus, was presented to the Bliss Electrical School by the War Department as a tribute to the work of the Bliss Searchlight Company of Engineers.

Bliss Electrical School Takoma Park, D.C. Drafted men from Washington, D.C., installing wires for electric lights and motors in the wiring laboratory. An intensive course of training for electricians in the army was given at this school.
Bliss Electrical School Takoma Park, D.C. Drafted men from Washington, D.C., installing wires for electric lights and motors in the wiring laboratory. An intensive course of training for electricians in the army was given at this school.

At the request of the War Department in 1918, Bliss School prepared an intensive training course in the fundamentals of electricity for drafted men entering the Army. This course was adopted by the War Department, and was the first course used in all the colleges throughout the country, giving instructions along this line to army personnel in the Student Army Training Corps. The school contracted with the War Department to house, feed, and instruct selected groups of soldiers for this course. Beginning June 15, 1918, the school trained 700 soldiers in three detachments. The contract called for training these men at cost. This cost was determined by the auditors in the War Department at $2.00 for the first detachment, at $1.80 for the second detachment, and $1.62 for the third detachment per man per day for housing, feeding, instruction, and supplies. The school was under military control following instruction hence, following the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The third and last detachment of the Student Army Training Corps was mustered out and disbanded on December 6, 1918, and the school was released from military control. In 1919 Bliss returned to civilian training. The first edition of the Bliss School textbook, Theoretical and Practical Electrical Engineering, was published in September 1921.

During World War II Bliss had the distinction of being selected by the U.S. Navy as one of six engineering schools to give Primary School in the Electronics Training Program and it graduated over 3,000 students.[2] Bliss Electrical School's building was sold to Montgomery County for $350,000.[3]

BCC High School where the college started, and which lends its tower to the school crest

The current college was organized in 1946 as "Montgomery Junior College," with its campus located at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.[4] Its first dean was Hugh G. Price.[5][6] The first day of class was held on September 16, 1946.[4] During its first school year, it had about 175 students.[4]

In 1950, the college moved to Takoma Park, absorbing the Bliss Electrical School[7][3] Previously, Montgomery Junior College could only hold evening classes because the high school used the building for its classes during the day, but with the acquisition of Bliss Electrical School's building, Montgomery Junior College began holding daytime classes as well.[8][9] The first day of classes at the new location began on October 2, 1950.[9] At the time, it was segregated, with an enrollment of over 500 students. The newly established Carver Junior College in Rockville was expected to have 40 African-Americans enrolled, but only 19 managed to show up, due both to problems in finding transportation to school and the cost of tuition.[10]

The Rockville campus of Montgomery College opened in September 1965,[11] and the Germantown campus opened in early 1970s, occupying its present permanent site since 1978. Montgomery College also offers learning opportunities through its extensive Workforce Development and Continuing education programs.

21st Century

In 2010, DeRionne Pollard assumed leadership of Montgomery College, and it's three-campus'. She spearheaded the development of a new Montgomery College mission and strategic plan. She has partnered actively with Montgomery County Public Schools and the Universities at Shady Grove in the creation of Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES), a support program designed to help disadvantaged students transition from high school to college completion. The program now has 1,700 students enrolled. Montgomery College is also a member of Achieving the Dream network, a non-governmental reform movement for student success at community colleges.

Campuses

Cafritz Arts Center, Silver Spring
Cultural Arts Center, Silver Spring

Takoma Park / Silver Spring

The Takoma Park campus began expanding into neighboring city of 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's expansion into Silver Spring, the Board of Trustees renamed the Takoma Park campus as the "Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus" in June 2005.[12] The Cultural Arts Center, which contains two theaters, opened in 2009.[13]

Rockville

Montgomery College Rockville Campus

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.[14][15][16] In 2011, Montgomery College built its new Science Center on the Rockville Campus which features 29 new laboratories. In January 2017, the new North Garage with over 900 covered parking spaces was opened on the Rockville campus.

Germantown

Montgomery College, Germantown campus

In 2011, the Montgomery College Germantown Campus started to expand with the addition of the Life Sciences Park which features the new Holy Cross Germantown Hospital. In 2014, the Germantown Campus add a new Bioscience Education Center which features wet labs, a detached greenhouse complex, and a meeting/conference center.

Libraries

The Montgomery College Libraries system has a location at each campus.

Organization and administration

The Montgomery College Foundation is a 501(c)(3) (tax-exempt) charitable organization governed by business, alumni and community members.[17] The Foundation, with assets of $126,554,999, according to the 2017 IRS 990 form, also helps fund the college, placing it among the top five community colleges in the nation in private funding.

Montgomery College's fiscal year 2019 tax-supported operating budget is $262 million— a 2 percent increase over last year—with funding from Montgomery County, the state of Maryland, and student tuition and fees.[18]

Presidents

The president of Montgomery College oversees the operations of three academic campuses of Montgomery College in Maryland.[19]

  • Unknown (1948–1953)
  • Donald E. Deyo (1953–1965)
  • George A. Hodson (1965–1966)
  • William C. Strasser (1966–1979)
  • Robert E. Parilla (1979–1998)
  • Charlene R. Nunley (1998–2007)
  • Brian K. Johnson (2007–2009)
  • Hercules Pinkney (2009–2010, acting)
  • DeRionne P. Pollard (2010–present)
  • Dr. Charlene Mickens Dukes (2021-present, interim)

Academics

Montgomery College has an enrollment of over 55,000 credit and noncredit students.[20] Of the Montgomery County Public Schools graduates who choose to stay in Maryland for college, 56% attend Montgomery College within the following academic year.[21] 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.

Montgomery College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.[22] It offers two-year associate 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] Montgomery College also offers certificate programs.

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.

Montgomery College offers study abroad to over 25 countries. In 2018, Montgomery College students transferred to 375 four-year colleges and universities in 48 states and Puerto Rico.

Honors programs

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

Other programs and services

Student life

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 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.[23] The second expo took place in the Goldenrod building of the Germantown campus.[24] The 3rd expo was held on April 9, 2010 at the Rockville campus.[25]

Athletics

The Montgomery College athletics teams are collectively known as the Raptors. During the Spring 2012 semester the college rebranded the mascot to be representative of all campuses. Sports teams are divided among campuses and compete in the NJCAA. Prior to the Spring 2012 semester, each Montgomery College campus had its own athletic teams. The athletic teams were formerly known as the Knights of the Rockville Campus, the Falcons of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, and the Gryphons of the Germantown Campus.[26]

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.[27]

In the Fall 2018 semester, Montgomery College teams were elevated to Division I and Division II levels.[28] The Montgomery College teams elevated to the Division I level were men's soccer, women's soccer, men's outdoor track and field, and women's outdoor track and field. The Montgomery College volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, and softball teams are now competing in NJCAA Division II.

National championships

The Knights (Rockville Campus) women's tennis team won the NJCAA Division III National Championship in 2001 and again in 2006.[29] Montgomery College-Rockville golfer Brent Davis won the NJCAA Division III Individual Championship in 2005 with a score of 288.[30]

The Raptors women's track and field team won back to back NJCAA Division III National Championships in 2015 and 2016.[31][failed verification] The Raptors men's track and field team won back to back to back NJCAA Division III National Championships in 2014, 2015, and 2016.[32][failed verification]

Notable people

For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Montgomery College alumni.

Montgomery College has served over 450,000 credit students since its founding in 1946[21] including :

Controversy

On November 28, 2016, NBC 4 announced it's investigation into the frivolous spending claims made by students and staff against President DeRionne Pollard. NBC 4 had received letter's from staff throughout the summer pleading for the news organization to investigate the President.[35] The investigation obtained a copy of the President's contact which revealed she was receiving a yearly salary of $281,000, with a possible annual bonus of 5%, on top of a monthly housing allowance of $3000. Additionally the news station also obtained Pollard's College issued credit card expense report that showed that she had spent more than $70,000 since 2013 traveling on behalf of the school to Napa, California, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and nearly 40 other destinations averaging 13 trips per year within the past two years. But the issue that outraged students and staff wasn't just that she was traveling on behalf of the school, but rather the more questionable charges such as the hotel receipt for $1,792 for a five-day stay at the Marriott Wardman in DC, roughly 20 miles from her own home. The College would later try to excuse this expense citing that Pollard had needed to be there because she helped host a conference at the hotel. An explanation that still left outraged students and staff unsatisfied.

The released reports also showed Pollard spent more than $6000 upgrading her flights, which included her wife, from coach to first class. The College claimed this was excused because Pollard needed the addition space to use her laptop, and to ease her wife's pain from her knee replacement surgery. The couple while flying charged $3700 to the college for overweight baggage. An example from 2015, Dr. Pollard spent more than $3,400 on airfare and upgraded seats for both herself and her wife to Honolulu, and then to Austin, Texas for back to back conferences. For this trip, in addition to their flights and upgrades, $495 was spent on luggage fees for their five addition bags. $2,776 was spent for their hotel room at the Moana Surfrider in Honolulu. An additional $2,753 was spent at the Four Seasons in Austin, where they racked up $500 in room service ($80 for breakfast and $49 for dinner), which happened to be the same night Pollard had already submitted a receipt for another $127 dinner at a restaurant in Austin.

References

  1. ^ Bliss, Louis (1955). Bliss Electrical School Alumni Address (Speech). Bliss Alumni Address. Washington, D.C. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  2. ^ Raymond C Watson, Jr. (2007). Solving the Naval Radar Crisis: The Eddy Test – Admission to the Most Unusual Training Program of World War II. pp. 205–207. ISBN 978-1-4251-6173-6.
  3. ^ a b "Experts Meet To Revise Junior College". The Washington Post. August 15, 1950. p. 8.
  4. ^ a b c Donnell, Thomas J. O. (September 11, 1946). "6 New Junior Colleges in State to Open: Tuition Fee Presents Problem In Establishing Any In City". The Baltimore Sun. p. 28.
  5. ^ Strasser, William C., Jr. (August 1992). "Montgomery College in Its Formative Years, 1946-1979" (PDF). The Montgomery County Story. Vol. 35, no. 3. Montgomery County Historical Society. Retrieved March 4, 2021.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Ex-Teacher Made Dean Of Junior College". The Baltimore Sun. May 31, 1946. p. 8.
  7. ^ "Bliss Electrical School Reunion". YouTube.
  8. ^ "New Home for Montgomery Junior College (photo caption)". Washington Evening Star. August 4, 1950. Retrieved March 3, 2021 – via Chronicling America.
  9. ^ a b "Montgomery Junior College Coming of Age". The Washington Post. August 27, 1950. p. L3.
  10. ^ "Lack of Transit Hampers Negro Junior College". Washington Evening Star. October 3, 1950. Retrieved March 6, 2020 – via Chronicling America.
  11. ^ Filson, Susan (December 10, 1965). "1550 'Make Do' on MJC's New Campus". The Washington Post. p. B13.
  12. ^ Montgomery College. Montgomery College Announcement of Campus Name Change Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center". Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment District. Silver Spring Urban District. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  14. ^ Holly, Joe (June 2, 2008). "Sarah Silberman; Sculptor, College Benefactor". The Washington Post.
  15. ^ Crisostomo, Contessa (February 27, 2008). "Montgomery College Dedicates Art Gallery to Alumna". The Gazette. Rockville, MD. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  16. ^ Jewish Women's Archive Archived June 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Montgomery College. "Montgomery College Foundation." Archived June 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Montgomery College Budget Office
  19. ^ "MC Memories and Milestones Timeline". Montgomery College. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  20. ^ Montgomery College. Montgomery College Fall 2006 Enrollment Report Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ a b Montgomery College. "Montgomery College At a Glance." Accessed July 13, 2010. Archived April 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Philadelphia, PA. "Institution Directory." Accessed July 13, 2010.
  23. ^ Montgomery College. "Student Excellence Expo: SEE 2008." Archived May 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ ""SEE 2009 Photo Gallery"". Montgomery College. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  25. ^ "SEE 2010 Archived June 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ Zakour, Kent (December 4, 2013). "Montgomery College reveals new mascot". Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  27. ^ Rockville Express official web site
  28. ^ Montgomery College Elevates Athletics Programs to NJCAA Division I and II
  29. ^ NJCAA Division III Women's Tennis Record Book Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ NJCAA Division III Men's Golf Record Book Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ "MC Women's Track and Field Team Brings Home Three National Championships" (18 May 2015). Inside MC. Montgomery College. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  32. ^ "NJCAA Division III Outdoor Championships". USTFCCCA. U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  33. ^ J. Marshall Guion (IV) (1976). Descendants of Louis Guion, Huguenot, of La Rochelle, France and New Rochelle, West Chester County, Province of New York: A Guion Family Album, 1654 to 1976. Guion. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  34. ^ The artist's website
  35. ^ Thompson, Tisha; Yarborough, Rick; Piper, Jeff (November 28, 2016). "Presidential Perks: Students, Staff Complain About Spending at Montgomery College". NBC 4. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
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