Randolph Community College history

July 1963-Future RCC President Larry K. Linker was hired as agricultural technology coordinator.

November 1963-Diplomas were presented to the first full-length course graduates.

October 20, 1965-The Board of Trustees adopted Randolph Technical Institute as the new name and were authorized to award Associate in Applied Science degrees.

1965 (October) - Randolph Industrial Education Center becomes Randolph Technical Institute

Fall 1965-The Center had grown to 11 staff members, 13 full-time and 27 part-time faculty members and had served approximately 2,700 people.

1965 - First Associate in Applied Science Degrees awarded.

Fall 1967-The first of the College’s specialty programs, Interior Design, was initially offered.

Spring 1968-The school's first organized sports team, a baseball team, is organized.

April 1988-The new 11,800-square-foot Business Education Center opened for classes.

The program continues until funding disolves in 1995.

July 1996-RCC launches the college's website, which included general information about the College, its services and facilities, Curriculum and Continuing Education course offerings, information on the RCC Foundation and campus maps.

Fall 1997-RCC began offering its own autonomous Associate in Arts (College Transfer) program.

In fall 2004, there were 1,200 students enrolled in distance learning courses. It first offered distance learning courses in 1998.

January 1999-The Randolph County JobLink Career Center, located on RCC's Asheboro Campus, received its charter from the Regional Workforce Development Board.

December 1999-RCC receives reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Spring 1999-A 3,720-square-foot Campus Store opened behind the Student Services Center, connected by a covered walkway.

July 2000-The RCC Board of Trustees chose Doctor Richard T. "Dick" Heckman as the new president and fifth leader in the history of the College.

July 2002-The RCC Board of Trustees honored former RCC President Merton H. Branson and former Board Chairman J.W. (Willie) Plummer with its first Distinguished Service Award.

In 2004, the College’s Board of Trustees began a multi-year strategic planning process.

August 2006-Randolph Early College High School begins classes on RCC's campus with its first class of students.

After years of debate, research, and deliberation, the College’s Board of Trustees addressed enrollment issues by making the decision in September 2006 to adopt coeducation and change the College name.

Her total service as a member of the RCC Board was 31 years and six months; she retired on June 30, 2007, and she was awarded the status of Trustee Emeritus in November 2007.

R-MWC officially became Randolph College on July 1, 2007, and John E. Klein began his presidency in August of that year, just days before the College welcomed its first fully coed class.

2009 - Orange is added as one of the Official School Colors and a new logo is approved (March)

May 19, 2010-Randolph Early College High School holds its first graduation ceremony on the front lawn of the campus.

August 12, 2011-A 5,700-square-foot state of the art Welding lab is opened at RCC's Archdale Center.

October 6, 2011-A groundbreaking ceremony is held for the renovation of the old Klaussner furniture plant on Industrial Park Avenue.

In 2011, he participated as a dancer in the Foundation’s Dancing with the Randolph Stars fundraiser.

The project is based on a report, “Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century,” released in 2011 by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

June 2012-RCC announces the establishment of an Air Force ROTC program in conjunction with North Carolina A&T State University.

September 4, 2012-A 50th birthday celebration is held on campus on the exact date that curriculum classes started 50 years before.

September 11, 2012-In honor of the 50th Anniversary, RCC's Photography Department hosts an alumni photography show at the Randolph Arts Guild.

May 8, 2013-Over 460 students graduate at RCC's curriculum graduation ceremony held in the Asheboro High School gymnasium.

He began his tenure in July 2013 after the retirement of Klein.

A special presentation was made to Doctor Robert S. Shackleford, Jr. as the recipient of the 2013 N.C. Community College System's President of the Year.

While on the Board, she has served as president (2013-15), vice president, co-chair of Dancing with the Randolph Stars committee, and a member of the membership and investment committees.

The $6 million Student Center renovation and Michels Plaza were completed in 2013.

Novomber 3, 2014- RCC purchases the former Bost Neckwear property at 503 and 505 Industrial Park Avenue for $826,267.

In 2014, the College began a partnership with the National Gallery, London, as part of the sale of the “Men of the Docks” painting by George Bellows.

July 16, 2015- Rick Powell and PEMMCO Manufacturing were presented with the 2015 Distinguished Service Award by the RCC Board of Trustees.

September 24, 2015- Randolph Community College was named a partner in a $9.2 million “First in the World” grant in a consortium of 10 community colleges in North Carolina to extend a student retention program that focuses on proactive student counseling and coaching.

Octobor 7, 2016- The College officially renamed its machining program and lab the Gene Haas Computer-Integrated Machining Institute.

May 21, 2018- Randolph Community College named its College and Career Readiness Department in honor of Dahlia Gubalane Oldham of Seagrove, a graduate and fervent supporter of the program, the College, and the RCC Foundation.

September 7-8, 2018- Randolph Community College’s Photographic Technology program marked its 50th anniversary with its first Homecoming Celebration.

September 17, 2019-Randolph Community College's old Allied Health Center was renamed the Kinley Center after Assistant Director of Facilities Ken Kinley, who retired after a record 40 years of service at the College.