Northern Virginia Community College history

HIS 121 - United States History to 1877 Introduces the history of the United States from its origins to 1877.

1964 – Northern Virginia Technical College was established.

In the fall of 1965, the College opened with 761 students in a single building in Bailey's Crossroads under President Robert W. McKee.

1966 – The College was renamed Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). The college purchased 78 acres in Annandale in 1966 for construction of the first of six NOVA campuses.

1967 – NOVA opened its first campus, the Annandale Campus.

1968 – Doctor Richard J. Ernst became NOVA’s second president.

1969 – The original plan of establishing one central campus and four satellite centers was changed to a concept of five campuses supported by a central administration.

1971 – Construction began on the Eastern Campus, later know as the Alexandria Campus.

1972 – Originally known as the Western Campus, the Manassas Campus first offered classes in the fall of 1972.

1973 – The Alexandria Campus opened.

1974 – The Loudoun Campus opened.

1975 – NOVA offered its first distance learning courses in 1975.

1979 – The NVCC Educational Foundation was created.

1988 – The semester system began at NOVA.

1998 – Doctor Richard J. Ernst retired and Doctor Belle Wheelan became NOVA’s third president.

2002 – Doctor Belle Wheelan left NOVA to become the Secretary of Education for Virginia.

2003 – The Medical Education Campus (MEC) opened in Springfield in Fall 2003.

2006 – The Arlington Center and Reston Center opened for classes.

2007 – NOVA became an Achieving the Dream College.

2008 – The Innovation Park Center in Manassas opened for classes.

2009 – Signal Hill in Sterling opened for classes.

In 2010, a new center was added to NOVA, Innovation Park.

2018 – The Extended Learning Institute (ELI) was renamed to NOVA Online.