Johnson College history

Johnson & Wales University (JWU) was founded as a business school in 1914 in Providence, Rhode Island, by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales.

JWU was accredited in 1954 by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).

In 1962 Doctor Norman A. Chamberlain was named Laboratory Director.

In 1963 the State of Rhode Island granted a charter that authorized the university to operate as a nonprofit, degree-granting institution of higher learning and to award associate degrees in accounting, business administration, court reporting and secretarial sciences.

JJC was one of only twelve black colleges in Florida, created by legislature in the years before the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and in its short, four year existence, the school graduated nearly 400 students.

Johnson County Community College became the first new college recommended for creation under the Kansas Community Junior College Act of 1965.

The district was formally established in June 1967, and voters were asked to elect college trustees in September.

In 1968, the board obtained a "no-fund warrant" to provide for interim financing until the first tax levy could be established.

In 1969, county residents voted approval of $12.9 million in general obligation bonds to purchase more than 200 acres in Overland Park, which would turn the idea for a college campus into a reality.

In 1970 the State of Rhode Island approved a revision in the university’s charter allowing it to award baccalaureate degrees as well as associate degrees.

The Charleston Higher Education Consortium Graduate Program in Marine Biology began with 6 to 8 students matriculated during the 1973-74 academic year.

In 1978 the Charleston Laboratory of the Southeastern Division of the National Marine Fisheries Service was established at Fort Johnson.

In July 1982, Doctor Thomas Cheng of MUSC was named Director of the Graduate Program.

In 1984, a JWU campus was established in Charleston, South Carolina, which offered a variety of 2- and 4-year programs in food service, hospitality and travel-tourism.

Doctor Charles K. Biernbaum of the College of Charleston served as Interim Director during the 1985-86 academic year while a search was made for a permanent director.

A JWU campus opened in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1986, offering 1- and 2-year food service programs.

From 1992-93, Doctor Louis Burnett, Chair of the Department of Biology served as Acting Program Director.

In 1993, Doctor Richard C. Brusca came to the University of Charleston as the Director of the Graduate Program in Marine Biology.

Responding to the continuing technological changes in society, the board, administration, faculty, staff, and students conducted an intense two-year self-study, beginning in 1994, to assess the institution’s strengths and weaknesses.

The graduating class of 1998 was the first class to receive either an Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree or an Associate in Science (A.S.) degree.

September 2000 marked the opening of the Denver, Colorado, campus.

In January 2004 the College opened the Animal Care Center as a teaching facility to enhance the Veterinary Technology educational experience.

The Radiologic Technology program received accreditation by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) in May 2005.

In fall 2012 the university began offering a degree in counseling psychology, the first bachelor’s degree program offered through the John Hazen White School of Arts & Sciences.