West Shore Community College history

From an initial enrollment in the fall of 1968 of 118 students and an initial graduating class of 62 students, the college has grown to a current enrollment close to 1,200 students, with the most recent graduation class consisting of nearly 140 students eligible to receive degrees or certificates.

The first permanent structure was the Campus Center (now the Administrative Building), which was dedicated in the spring of 1970; prior to this, classes were held in six relocatable classrooms the college had purchased.

The West Shore Community College Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, was established in 1971 to promote, establish, conduct, maintain, and operate educational and scientific activities for West Shore Community College, its students and the communities the college serves.

The foundation is actively working to build its endowment fund to provide additional scholarships for students desiring to attend the college. It first offered distance learning courses in 1998.

Afterward in 2001, Governor John Engler appointed Anderson the founding director of the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries.

Growth in facilities includes the following: In 2002, an 18,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art science wing was added to the Arts and Sciences Center and West Shore Community College opened a 36,000 sq. ft. ice arena.

In 2006, Manistee County Education Center, a partnership between the college and West Shore Medical Center, opened in Manistee.