Wayne Community College history

Wayne Community College began as the Goldsboro Industrial Education Center (I.E.C.), established on April 3, 1958.

1959 - Wayne State University became a constitutionally established university by popularly adopted amendment to the Michigan Constitution.

A campus was established on the United States 70 Bypass in 1960.

By 1961, there were five public junior colleges emphasizing arts and sciences, and seven industrial education centers focusing on technical and vocational education.

By the fall of 1962, the IEC had eight faculty and 47 students.

There were then 20 industrial education centers, six community colleges (three of which became four year schools in 1963), and five extension units.

In January 1964, Goldsboro I.E.C. became Wayne Technical Institute.

He was succeeded by Doctor Clyde A. Erwin, Jr. in July 1966.

Since 1968, the enrollment of Wayne Community College has steadily grown each year.

Notable Wayne Community College graduates include psychologist Russell Barkley (June 1972).

1974 – The College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions was formed from merger of the College of Pharmacy and the Division of Allied Health Professions, School of Medicine.

In the early years of the system, the State Board of Education Chair was Dallas Herring; David Bruton succeeded him in 1977.

The first building on the new campus, constructed in 1978, housed auto-diesel technology, welding, watchmaking, drafting and electronics programs.

1985 – The School of Fine and Performing Arts and the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs were established.

A local bond referendum in 1986 provided $9.9 million in construction funds, which were matched by state funds in the following years.

1989 – The name of the School of Fine and Performing Arts was changed to the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts.

1993 – The College of Science was established.

All were in use by the winter of 1996.

In the fall of 2000, voters overwhelmingly approved a statewide Higher Education Bond that provided WCC nearly $13 million for construction, renovation and repair.

2004 – The College of Science and The College of Liberal Arts merged to form The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The 16-foot “street clock,” a memorial to Madeline W. Plonk and Hal K. Plonk, was a gift from the residents of Goldsboro and the Plonk family in 2005.

It accepted 60 students into the first freshman class in August, 2007.

2008 – The Irvin D. Reid Honors college was created.

2009 – The School of Library and Information Science was created.

2014 – The Advanced Technology Education Center opens in Warren, Michigan.

On April 13, 2015, 20-year old Kenneth Stancil, a recently ousted student walked onto campus with a shotgun, entered the print shop near the library, and fatally shot the print shop operator, with whom he had been performing work-study duties until dismissed in March.

In March 2016, voters approved the “North Carolina Connect NC Public Improvement Bond” that will result in $5,800,000 in funds for construction, repairs and renovations for the college.

2018 – The Mike Ilitch School of Business opens its new facility, located in The District Detroit.