Centralia College
{{Short description|Community college in Centralia, Washington, U.S.}}
{{Redirect|Centralia Community College|the community college in Centralia, Illinois|Kaskaskia College}}
{{for|the former college in Ontario, Canada|Centralia College of Agricultural Technology}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox university
| name = Centralia College
| image = Centralia-CC-logo.gif
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| type = Public community college
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| president = Robert Mohrbacher
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| administrative_staff = 212
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| city = Centralia
| state = Washington
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| country = United States
| coordinates = {{coord|46.71595|-122.95944}}
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| former_names = Centralia Junior College
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| sports_nickname = Trailblazers
| mascot = Blazer Bill
| athletics_affiliations = Northwest Athletic Conference
| website = {{URL|www.centralia.edu}}
| logo = Centralia-athletics.jpg
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Centralia College is a public community college in Centralia, Washington. Although it primarily offers certificates and Associate degrees, it also offers a few Bachelor's degrees. Founded in 1925, Centralia is the oldest continuously operating community college in the state of Washington.{{Cite news|last1=Centralia College|last2=the Chronicle|date=December 25, 2015|title=A Timeline: 90 Years of Education at Centralia College|work=The Chronicle|url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/a-timeline-90-years-of-education-at-centralia-college,65906|access-date=May 27, 2021}} The college sits on {{convert|29|acre|m2|sigfig=2}} in the middle of the town of Centralia. There is a branch education center, Centralia College East, in the town of Morton and the college offers a range of online and correspondence courses. Overall, the college serves an area of {{convert|2409|sqmi|km2|sigfig=3}} in Lewis County and southern Thurston County under the administrative classification of Community College District Twelve.
History
Centralia College opened on September 14, 1925, as the Centralia Junior College as part of an agreement between the University of Washington, Centralia Public Schools, and the Centralia School Board.{{cite web |last=Ott |first=Jennifer |date=April 17, 2008 |title=Centralia College holds its first day of classes on September 14, 1925. |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8507 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=November 28, 2024}} It was the first junior college to open in the state and preceded the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system.{{cite news |last=Long |first=Katherine |date=April 3, 2017 |title=Washington state's lauded community-college system is 50 years old today |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/washington-states-lauded-community-college-system-is-50-years-old-today/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 28, 2024}} The college received its accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities in 1948.{{cite web |url=http://www.nwccu.org/Directory%20of%20Inst/Alpha%20Cluster/a_d.html |title=Directory of Institutions A — D |accessdate=2009-03-28 |date=2009-03-28 |publisher=Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011021640/http://www.nwccu.org/Directory%20of%20Inst/Alpha%20Cluster/a_d.html |archive-date=2017-10-11 |url-status=dead }} The first physical campus opened in 1950 with Kemp Hall.{{cite web |url=http://www.centralia.edu/international/pdf/CompleteHandbook.doc |title=Centralia College International Programs Student Handbook |accessdate=2009-03-28 |publisher=Centralia College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722083827/http://www.centralia.edu/international/pdf/CompleteHandbook.doc |archive-date=2011-07-22 |url-status=dead }} Growing from an entrance class of 15 students, {{as of|2009|lc=on}} the college has an enrollment of 4,803 students in 64 academic programs. The college is affiliated with the private Centralia College Foundation, founded in 1982 by community members, to supplement its public resources.
The college is also home to Michael Spafford's The Twelve Labors of Hercules, a series of murals commissioned in the early 1980s for the House of Representatives' chambers.{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20010608/mural08/exiled-murals-may-surface-in-centralia |title=Exiled murals may surface in Centralia |access-date=2009-03-28 |last=Farr |first=Sheilla |date=2001-06-08 |work=The Seattle Times}} From 1982 to 1987 they were covered with curtains due to their perceived (by some) sexually suggestive nature and later were placed in storage. Following a decade of negotiations, the college acquired the murals in 2002 for display in the Corbet Theatre.{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/137346_murals30.html |title=Controversial murals go to Centralia College |accessdate=2009-03-28 |last=Associated Press |date=2003-08-30 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}}{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20030903/murals03m/controversial-murals-on-the-move |title=Controversial murals on the move |access-date=2009-03-28 |last=Thomas |first=Ralph |date=2003-09-03 |work=The Seattle Times}} Murals created by Alden Mason and originally displayed at the Capitol were moved to the college library in 1990.{{citation|date=September 3, 2003 |title=Controversial murals on the move|author=Ralph Thomas |work=The Seattle Times|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20030903/murals03m/controversial-murals-on-the-move|access-date=2012-10-12}}{{citation|title=College's commissioned art spans three decades|url=http://www.centralia.edu/students/diversity/images/campusart2000.pdf|date=April–May 2000|newspaper=Blue & Gold|page=10|accessdate=2012-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905060151/http://www.centralia.edu/students/diversity/images/campusart2000.pdf|archive-date=2015-09-05|url-status=dead}}
Academics
In 2012 the college began offering a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management degree. It now offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Diesel Technology degree and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Science and Application Development degree.
Campus
In 2023, the college, in partnership with Collegiate Housing International (CHI), completed an off-campus student apartment complex providing affordable accommodations for students in part due to the ongoing housing crisis. The dormitory complex can house up to 110 students. With an occupancy of 8 people per living quarters, each unit shares a common room and is pre-furnished.{{cite news |last1=Sexton |first1=Owen |title=Take a look inside Centralia College's new student apartments |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/take-a-look-inside-centralia-colleges-new-student-apartments,329010 |access-date=November 21, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=November 8, 2023}} The following year, the complex was begun to be used as limited and temporary housing for Centralia high school students who are homeless. The project, named Scholars Haven, enrolls the students into the college's Running Start program.{{cite news |last1=Sexton |first1=Owen |title=Partnership forms to house homeless Centralia students in college campus student apartments |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/partnership-forms-to-house-homeless-centralia-students-in-college-campus-student-apartments,337401 |access-date=April 2, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 29, 2024}}
=Artworks=
The campus contains several murals including works by Alden Mason and Robert Calvo. The mural collection, Twelve Labors of Hercules, by the artist William Spafford that was created in the 1980s for the Washington State Capitol but removed due to complaints, resides at the college.{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle staff |title=Art in the Park celebrates a decade |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/art-in-the-park-celebrates-a-decade,221858? |access-date=April 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) |date=May 22, 2006}} A mural in Washington Hall features Merce Cunningham, a dancer and choreographer from Centralia.{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle Editorial Board |title=Our Views: The Most Famous Centralian? Merce Cunningham |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/our-views-the-most-famous-centralian-merce-cunningham,189042? |access-date=August 12, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=June 10, 2009}}
Athletics
The college's mascot is the Trailblazer and the athletics program includes teams for women's volleyball, men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's fast pitch softball and women's golf. These teams play in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).{{cite web|url=http://www.centralia.edu/athletics/index.html |title=Athletics at Centralia College |accessdate=2009-03-28 |year=2008 |publisher=Centralia College }}
The college is home to a sports complex known as Bob Peters Field. The site, begun in 1999 through the purchasing of neighborhood lots, was declared completed in 2023 after an official groundbreaking the prior year. The complex was named after the college's athletic director, the longest serving director in Washington state history. The athletic compound is {{convert|4.0|acre|ha}} and hosts fields for baseball, softball, and soccer. Student fees of over $3 million were used for the construction of the complex.{{cite news |last1=Nance |first1=Jesse |title=Centralia College Honors Campus Stalwart With Bob Peters Field |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/centralia-college-honors-campus-stalwart-with-bob-peters-field,319743 |access-date=July 24, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=May 23, 2023}}
=Extinct facilities=
The college's Kirk Library was once the site of Noble Field, named after Elmer Noble, a Centralia High School graduate and World War I hero who died in action. The field temporarily contained an observation tower where volunteers, especially high school students, could spot incoming Japanese fighter planes during World War II. The tower was situated on top of the grandstand's press booth which contained a direct phone line to the Fort Lewis Command Center and was outfitted with blackout curtains. The grandstand was removed in 1971.{{cite news |last1=Crowner |first1=Paul |title=Concluding the Tale of Lewis County’s Lookout Towers |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/paul-crowner-commentary-concluding-the-tale-of-lewis-countys-lookout-towers,169804? |access-date=March 6, 2025 |work=The Chronicle |date=December 13, 2010}}
Notable alumni and people
- Charlie Albright, pianist{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle staff |title=World-Renowned Pianist, Centralia Native Charlie Albright to Return for Holiday Performance at Centralia College |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/world-renowned-pianist-centralia-native-charlie-albright-to-return-for-holiday-performance-at,303405? |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=November 9, 2022}}
- Charles L. Littel, one of the founders of the college who also founded Junior College of Bergen County{{cite news |last1=Walton |first1=James |title=As Leaves Fall on Esplanade, We'll Remember Aadland |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/james-walton-commentary-as-leaves-fall-on-esplanade-well-remember-aadland,92070? |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=November 2, 2013 |quote=Guest columnist from President of Centralia College}}
- Angela Meade, opera singer{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle staff |title=Centralia College Asks for Nominations for Distinguished Alumnus |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/centralia-college-asks-for-nominations-for-distinguished-alumnus,22287? |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=October 26, 2017}}
- Patricia Anne Morton, first woman to serve as a Diplomatic Security special agent{{cite news |last1=Aadland |first1=Gordon |title=The Amazing Bag Lady from the Nation's Capital |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/gordon-aadland-commentary-the-amazing-bag-lady-from-the-nations-capital,175216? |access-date=July 24, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=July 23, 2010}}
- Jimmy Ritchey, country music songwriter and record producer{{cite news |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Celene |title=Jimmy Ritchey Selected as Centralia College Distinguished Alumnus |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/jimmy-ritchey-selected-as-centralia-college-distinguished-alumnus,4089? |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=April 22, 2020}}
- Delford M. Smith, aviator and businessman
- Brian Valentine, American software executive
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.centralia.edu Official site]
{{NWAACC}}
{{Colleges and universities in Washington (state)|state=expand}}
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Category:Community colleges in Washington (state)
Category:Education in Lewis County, Washington
Category:Education in Thurston County, Washington
Category:Universities and colleges established in 1925
Category:Centralia, Washington