MCC's 50th Anniversary
1970-2020
- College History
- Timeline
- Join the Celebration
- Calendar of Events
- Celebration Kit
- Alumni
- Photo Albums
- Celebration Mission
- Steering Committee
- About MCC
- Alumni
- At a Glance
- Campuses
- Mission of MCC
- News and Events
Historical Timeline
THE FIRST DECADE
1970
- Middlesex opens doors in two leased buildings at Bedford VA Hospital
- Dr. James E. Houlihan Jr. – first/founding president
- Fall ’70 enrollment: 573 day students; 283 evening students
- Student Government Association founded
1971
- Continuing Education courses offered at the Bedford campus, Arlington and Woburn high schools, and Hanscom Air Force Base
- Student Clubs founded: Humanities, Hypnosis & Psychic Phenomenon, Outing, Photography, Radio, Secretarial and Ski
1972
- To accommodate growing enrollment, two buildings leased on Marist Brothers property, 1.5 miles north of VA Bedford campus
- First Commencement – 230 graduates
- Women’s Opportunity Research Center (WORC) founded
1973
- MCC accredited by New England Association of Schools & Colleges
- Enrollment: 1,000+ day students, 1,700 evening students
1974
- Enrollment in Continuing Education courses grows to 3,910
- MCC has largest noncredit numbers of all Massachusetts community colleges
1975
- Dental Hygiene Clinic on Bedford campus provides low-cost services: teeth cleaning ($2) and complete set of dental X-rays ($3)
- Tuition: $150 per semester
1976
- Fifth commencement – 544 graduates; speaker: Gov. Michael S. Dukakis
- Women’s Opportunity Research Center (WORC) name changed to Widening Opportunity Research Center to reflect growing service to entire community
1977
- First TV courses, The Community College on the Air, offered on WGBH, WGBX and WGBY
- MCC has 26 men’s and women’s sports teams
1978
- State buys Marist Brothers property for permanent Bedford campus
- MCC Health Service Center opens
- Community Service Division launched to meet local employment, recreational and personal-enrichment needs
1979
- MCC leads all other Massachusetts community colleges in percentage of admitted students that graduate
- Applications to MCC increase more than 30 percent
THE SECOND DECADE
1980
- MCC turns 10
- Enrollment: 8,000 total (1,400 full-time credit students)
1981
- Burlington campus opens
- MCC Board of Trustees established
1982
- Continuing Education Division leads MA community colleges in enrollment with 6,542 credit-course registrations
- Summer Computer Camps for Kids launched
1983
- Free-tuition program for unemployed MA workers introduced
- First graduates of MCC/Lowell General Hospital Nursing Program – 28 students
1984
- Business & Industry Programs launched
- MCC Women’s Basketball team wins Eastern Division Championship
1985
- Transition Program begins
- McDonald’s & MCC team up to promote Children’s Dental Health Month – 500 coupons distributed in local Happy Meals for free teeth cleaning at MCC Dental Hygiene Clinic
1986
- Commencement – 700+ graduates; speaker: William M. Bulger, president MA Senate
- Annual tuition: $672
1987
- Lowell campus opens in temporary location
- Improvements made to Burlington campus
1988
- Dr. Evan S. Dobelle, renowned educator and administrator with nationwide experience, named second Middlesex president
- State approves $36.4 million bond measure to build permanent campuses in Bedford and Lowell
- MCC Foundation established
1989
- Wider Horizons Program begins
- MCC Law Center founded
- Lowell Middlesex Academy launched
- MCC welcomes two Institute of International Education Fellows – one of first community colleges among universities and four-year colleges selected
THE THIRD DECADE
1990
- Dr. Carole Cowan appointed third Middlesex president
- Construction begins on permanent Bedford campus
- MCC begins affiliation with the East West Summer Institute and the University of Hawaii’s Asian Studies Development Program
- First international exchange professor arrives from Budapest, Hungary; MCC professor teaches at Budapest Technical University
1991
- Permanent Lowell campus opens in former Wang Educational Center
- MCC Foundation launches first major fund drive in Middlesex history
- Trustees vote to purchase Middle Street property for Health, Science & Technology Center
1992
- Permanent Bedford campus opens
- International Student Fellowships Program founded
- MCC honored for best international education programs by National Council of Instructional Administrators and AACJC; award recognized Asian Studies Program and curriculum development projects initiated by President Cowan in 1990.
1993
- MCC Foundation purchases/renovates Lowell’s historic John Nesmith House
- MCC leaves the VA Building; Dental Hygiene Program moves to Lowell campus
- Service-Learning pilot program launched – 50 MCC students participate in community service during Spring Break
1994
- MCC Core Curriculum starts
- First Arts & Crafts Fair held on Bedford campus
- President Cowan tapped for leadership role in American Association of Community Colleges international initiatives
1995
- Health, Science & Technology Center opens
- Lowell Middlesex Academy becomes Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School – one of the first Massachusetts charter schools
1996
- First online course offered – English Composition, 6 students enrolled
- Lowell’s historic Federal Building acquired from U.S. government
- MCC selected as only college to operate a One-Stop Career Center: The Career Place.
1997
- B.R.I.D.G.E. Program opens for Lowell-area at-risk middle school students
- Individual Honors Courses offered
1998
- Lowell Small Business Assistance Center opens
- Lowell Connections Program founded (MCC/UMass partnership)
- M.I.L.E.S. Program for active older adults begins
- MCC creates Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning – one of the first colleges to do so
1999
- MCC Foundation launches Celebrity Forum benefit speaker series with Walter Cronkite and Doris Kearns Goodwin
- MCC launches Crossroads, one-year experiential program for high school graduates undecided about future
- education/career choices
THE FOURTH DECADE
2000
- MCC Foundation purchases (and saves) Billerica’s historic Stoker House
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Colin Powell
2001
- Celebrity Forum speakers: former President George H. Bush and Barbara Bush
- Links Program for adult learners launched, funded by MCC/Massachusetts Department of Education
- Journalist Ray Suarez and Robert Pinsky, former U.S. Poet Laureate, speak as part of One World Series
- MCC launches MiddleNet, new online registration/enrollment service
2002
- Honors Program launched
- Six faculty members travel to Cambodia on U.S. State Department Fulbright-Hays Group Research Project
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Rudy Giuliani
2003
- Middlesex Meetinghouse restored and opened near Bedford Campus
- MCC Leadership Management Institute launched
- Middlesex & Salem State College partner to off er bachelor’s degree-completion programs
- Author Frank McCourt speaks as part of One World Series
- Celebrity Forum speaker: David McCullough
2004
- Grand Opening of Federal Building on Lowell campus
- Lowell Police Academy moves to Lowell campus
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Barbara Walters
2005
- Central Administration Building on Bedford campus dedicated to Robert Cataldo
- MCC Program on Homeland Security established
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Tim Russert
2006
- MCC Foundation Annual Fund launched
- MCC/Lahey Clinic Nursing Partnership Program begins
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Geena Davis
2007
- Federal Building dedicated to Congressman F. Bradford Morse
- Paul H. Sullivan Leadership Institute established
- Center for Community Engagement opens
- Celebrity Forum speakers: Mike & Chris Wallace
- MCC selected to AAC&U’s Core Commitments Leadership Consortium
2008
- Boston & Maine Railroad Depot building in Lowell acquired
- Lowell’s Derby Park Culture Garden dedicated
- Veterans Resource Center established
- Celebrity Forum 10th anniversary speaker: comedian Jay Leno
2009
- MCC Fitness Trail opens (connects to state-wide trail system)
- Weekend College begins
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Sarah Ferguson
- International peace activist Padraig O’Malley speaks at MCC
- MCC students named national champions in Federal Reserve’s FedChallenge Competition (second year in a row)
2010
- Middlesex turns 40 and celebrates with a Grand Gala, Parades and Special Events
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Ken Burns
- MCC’s Transition Program celebrates its 25th anniversary
- Middlesex named a Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs
THE FIFTH DECADE
2011
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Robin Roberts
- MCC awarded Planning Grant to promote Entrepreneurship in Morocco
- Middlesex students launch 1,000 Cranes Campaign to help earthquake victims
- Federal Building wins Historic Preservation Award
- Bedford Library dedicated to first MCC president Dr. James E. Houlihan Jr.
2012
- MCC Academy of Health Professions recognized by Gov. Patrick
- Middlesex students help build habitat homes in Cambodia
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Michael J. Fox
- Lowell campus turns 25
2013
- Middlesex opens two new laboratories on Lowell campus
- Sean Penn headlines Haiti Panel at MCC
- MCC awarded Life Science Grant
- Celebrity Forum speakers: Former First Lady Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager
- MCC awarded $40,000 NEA Grant
2014
- MCC completes Title III grant
- Middlesex awarded $3 million grant to build new biotech facility
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Robert Redford
- MCC and other Mass. community colleges awarded $20 million federal grant to support STEM
2015
- Dr. James C. Mabry appointed fourth MCC president
- Celebrity Forum speaker: William Shatner
- MCC awarded two federal grants for TRIO Student-Support Programs
- Middlesex awarded state grant to boost STEM students
2016
- MCC awarded Mass. Skills Capital Grant
- Celebrity Forum speakers: Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb
- Middlesex awarded grant to expand study abroad program
- MCC health career programs receive national recognition
2017
- MCC joins partnership to support engineering transfer students
- Food pantries open on both campuses
- Celebrity Forum speaker: David Ortiz
- Middlesex opens cybersecurity lab
- $1.7 million grant awarded to support Asian American students & opens Asian American Student Center
2018
- Northeastern University and Middlesex offer scholarship for biotech students with A2M initiative
- Celebrity Forum speaker: Jamie Lee Curtis
- MCC rated one of best online colleges in Mass.
- Middlesex named top community college in Mass.
- MCC awarded $2.5 million grant to continue college-awareness program
- Middlesex Opens Academic Arts Center on Lowell campus
2019
- Online Business Administration Program Ranks in Top 50 in the country
- MCC Law Center’s Consumer Protection Program Awarded Funding
- Middlesex students advocate for community colleges at Boston State House
- MCC awarded funding to partner with Lowell Healthcare Businesses
2020
- MCC celebrates 50 years
- Amid pandemic, Middlesex transitions most courses and student services to online formats
- Middlesex awarded $841,000 for biotech program
- U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy visits MCC