John Tyler Community College history

At the first formal graduation exercises on June 14, 1969, degrees and certificates were awarded to 61 students.

Only six years after opening, in the spring of 1973, construction was begun in an effort to meet the increasing needs of the service area.

Hamel, who was chancellor until 1979, was appointed by Gov.

To meet the increasing needs of the service area, an outreach center was opened in the Midlothian area of Chesterfield County in 1981.

Then, in 1984, an arrangement with Chesterfield County Schools permitted the College to offer classes at the Watkins Annex.

William H. Talley, III, of Petersburg, began his service to the college in 1986, when he joined the John Tyler Community College Foundation Board.

Twenty years after JTCC began educating the community, during the 1987-88 academic year, JTCC served 9,617 credit and 1,555 non-credit students for a total of 11,172 individuals.

In 1988, the Midlothian location of the college moved to the Featherstone Professional Center, an office complex situated on Huguenot Road.

During the summer of 1989, the College moved its Midlothian operation from the Watkins Annex to the Featherstone Professional Center.

In 1993, the Nicholas Student Center was opened.

In fall 2005, there were 1,243 students enrolled in distance learning courses. It first offered distance learning courses in 1997.

The Midlothian Campus opened in May 2000.

In October 2007, the college broke ground on a second academic building at Midlothian.

In July 2010, the project received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition.

In 2012, Tyler’s president Doctor Marshall Smith announced the academic buildings on the Midlothian Campus would be named.

In May 2013, Doctor Edward “Ted” Raspiller was announced as Tyler’s seventh president.

In the summer of 2014, the college announced it would choose the college’s first mascot.

Mike and Lynn White’s $250,000 gift to the John Tyler Community College Foundation in 2015 was a demonstration of their commitment to education and to the community.

The T Building opened in January 2016.

In 2017, Tyler celebrated its 50th anniversary.

In 2018, a major construction project began on the Chester Campus.

Bird Hall reopened for classes in August 2019 and became home to the college's nursing and EMS/paramedic programs.

On November 11, 2020, the Naming Task Force reached a unanimous decision to recommend renaming the college to ensure a future-facing name that aligns with the college’s mission, vision and commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity.

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