Northampton Community College

Northampton Community College is a public community college in Pennsylvania with campuses in Bethlehem Township in Northampton County and Tannersville in Monroe County. The college, founded in 1967, also has satellite locations in the south side of Bethlehem and Hawley.[1] The college serves more than 34,000 students a year in credit and non-credit programs.

Northampton Community College
Former name
Northampton County Area Community College
MottoWhere are YOU going?
TypeCommunity college
Established1967
Endowment$41,000,000
PresidentDr. Mark H. Erickson
Administrative staff
1,300
Students34,000
Location
Bethlehem
,
Pennsylvania
,
United States

40.6725°N 75.3234°W / 40.6725; -75.3234
ColorsSchool: White and Blue           Sports: Orange and Black          
AthleticsNJCAA
MascotSam Spartan
Websitewww.northampton.edu

Northampton grants associate degrees, certificates and diplomas in more than 100 fields including arts and humanities, business and technology, education and allied health. It is one of the largest employers in the Lehigh Valley and a major educator of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, emergency responders, radiologic technologists, dental hygienists, veterinary technologists, funeral service directors, chefs and early childhood educators for the region.[2]

The college is also one of the largest providers of workforce training, adult literacy programs, and non-credit classes in a four-county region[2] and the only community college in Pennsylvania to offer on-campus housing.

History

The seeds for what became Northampton Community College were planted in the 1960s by business leaders and educators from Northampton County who saw the need for a college that could provide a well-trained workforce for local employers and give area residents an opportunity to get an affordable college education without leaving the area. Early advocates for the community college included Dr. Glenn Christensen, provost and vice-president of Lehigh University; Charles Fuller, president of Fuller Paper Company and a member of the Easton Area School Board; and State Senator Jeanette Reibman.[3]

The college took root on 165 acres (0.67 km2) of farmland in Bethlehem Township in eight modular classrooms that affectionately came to be known as "the barracks." Credit classes began on October 2, 1967. Four hundred and fifty students were expected. Eight hundred and forty-six showed up.[4] By the following year enrollment had grown to 1,442. In 1969-70 the College earned accreditation from the Middle States Association[5] and broke ground for five permanent buildings, which were completed in 1972. These included the College Center, a Science and Technology Center (Penn Hall), a classroom building (Founders Hall), a Business and Engineering Center (Richardson Hall) and an Arts Center (Kopecek Hall) which housed the College Theatre. In 1977, the Funeral Service and Radiologic Technologies Building opened on South Campus. It is now called Commonwealth Hall. An extensive renovation project occurred between 1986–1988, expanding the number of classrooms and renaming all of the buildings on the South Campus. In 1992, The Child Development Center opened and was named in honor of State Senator Jeanette Reibman. Also in 1992 Communications Hall was built to house the departments of Radio/TV, Art, Photography and Communications/Theatre.

In its history, Northampton has had only four presidents. Dr. Richard C. Richardson was only 33 years old when he was tapped to become the College's first president. He guided the College's growth for the first ten years. He was succeeded by Dr. Robert Kopecek in 1977. The College's academic programs, enrollment and facilities grew dramatically during Dr. Kopecek's 26-year tenure.[6] When Dr. Kopecek retired, the trustees chose Dr. Arthur Scott, an administrator who had been on the staff for over 25 years, as the College's next leader.[7] During Scott's nine years as president, Northampton opened a site on the southside of Bethlehem, broke ground for a new campus in Monroe County and became known for a collaborative student-centered culture affectionately described as "The Northampton Way". His successor, Dr. Mark Erickson, has strong ties to the region the College serves, having served on the staff of Lehigh University before becoming president of Wittenberg University from 2005 through June 2012. Erickson has adopted a strategic initiative called Trek to the Top that will focus on student outreach, a completion agenda, diversity and global engagement, community engagement and leadership in technology. Although different in leadership styles, all of Northampton's presidents have shared an entrepreneurial spirit and a fervent commitment to open access to education.[8]

Campuses

Fowler Family Southside Center

Named for the family of a well-known local philanthropist, the late Marlene ("Linny") Fowler, the building that now houses Northampton's educational center on the south side of Bethlehem was once the plant offices for The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, one of the nation's largest steel producers. The College purchased the building and began renovating it in 2005, four years after the company went bankrupt. Now more than 31,000 people each year take classes, access medical care, or attend meetings, seminars, conferences, performances, exhibits, public hearings and other events in the building. The Fowler Family Southside Center houses a workforce development center, the Northeast Forensics Training Center, a dental hygiene clinic, a mock casino for training, a 3-D fabrication studio, the Cops 'n' Kids Reading Room, a demo kitchen, dance studios and St. Luke's Southside Medical Center.

Monroe County

In 1988 at the request of local citizens, Northampton Community College began offering classes in neighboring Monroe County. The first classes were taught in space provided by the Monroe County Vocational-Technical School. In 1992 the College moved to Old Mill Road in Tannersville, “recycling” a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) building that had previously been a garment factory.[9] It was also in 1992 that the site gained “branch campus” status from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Rapid growth in enrollment necessitated the addition of two modular buildings in 1996 and additional expansions in 2000 and 2003, as well as utilization of supplemental space at Fountain Court, Pocono Corporate Center East, the Monroe County Vocational-Technical School, Pocono Mountain West High School, and Pocono Medical Center to meet the demand for education and workforce training.[10]

With enrollment nearing 2000 students and no room for significant additions on Old Mill Road, in February 2006 the College purchased 72 acres (290,000 m2) of land suitable for the creation of a new full-service campus close to Routes 80, 715 and 611 in the geographic center of Monroe County.[11][12]

The new campus opened in the summer of 2014. In addition to classrooms, the facilities include state-of-the-art science and computer labs, a full-service library, a child care center, public meeting rooms, a food court, and athletic fields. All buildings were designed to meet LEED gold standards as models of green construction[13]

Other special facilities

In addition to traditional and high tech classrooms, science and computer labs, art and dance studios, media resource centers, athletic facilities, meeting space and offices, Northampton Community College is also home to applied research facilities like the Emerging Technologies Application Center (ETAC), a television studio, an Innovation Lab, a "Fab Lab", nationally accredited child care centers, and a restaurant called Hampton Winds that showcases the talents of the College's culinary arts students.

Athletics

Northampton Community College athletics is affiliated with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA),[14] Region XIX,[15] and the Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference (EPCC).[16]

Intercollegiate sports include men's soccer, women's volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's golf, women's tennis, women's cross country, men's cross country, men's lacrosse and women's soccer. Club sports and intramurals are also popular.[17]

In 2015, Northampton hosted the national women's basketball championships for the NJCAA. The women's basketball, tennis, softball and volleyball teams have been ranked in the top ten nationally in the NJCAA, as have the men's basketball and baseball teams. Ten NCC athletes have been named NJCAA All-Americans.

Notable alumni
  • Michael Andretti, race car driver and team owner
  • Michael Bentt, actor and five-time US amateur national heavyweight boxing champion, former WBO world heavyweight champion, and co-star in Ali as Sonny Liston, Public Enemies as Herbert Youngblood and State Property 2 as Biggis (El Plaga)
  • Eric Frein, formerly on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, attended Northampton Community College's Bethlehem Township and Monroe County campuses.[18]
  • Carol Guzy, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and three time Photographer of the Year award-winner in the National Press Photographers' annual contest. Guzy is a photographer at The Washington Post.
  • Chris Martin, CEO of C. F. Martin & Company, manufacturer of Martin guitars
  • George McElwee, former Chief of Staff to Congressman Charlie Dent (PA) and longest-serving president of the bi-partisan House of Representatives Chiefs of Staff Association. Founder and Managing Partner of Commonwealth Strategic Partners, McElwee represents the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Washington, D.C. Northampton's George S. McElwee Forum for Excellence in Public Service is named for McElwee.
  • David Shaffer, co-CEO of Just Born candies
  • Jordan White, rock musician
  • Roger Ross Williams, television writer and producer whose work has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN, PBS, VH1 and Comedy Central. In 2010 Williams won an Oscar for his short documentary "Music by Prudence".[19][20][21]

References
  1. Maps and Directions Retrieved December 16, 2014
  2. Fact Sheet Retrieved December 16, 2014
  3. A COMMEMORATIVE BOOKLET, 1967-1987 by Dan Larimer
  4. NCC History Retrieved February 18, 2010
  5. The Express-Times, Easton, Pennsylvania - December 28, 2006 - "College building legacy of learning"
  6. The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania - October 31, 2002 - "NCC president to retire next year"
  7. The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania - October 3, 2003 - "Arthur Scott lauded at NCC inauguration"
  8. 40 Years, published by the NCC Foundation in 2007, written by Jim Johnson
  9. Building expands college's Monroe campus September 30, 2003
  10. NCC-Monroe seeks 71 acres for expansion December 2, 2005
  11. Plans for new NCC-Monroe campus unveiled April 11, 2008
  12. Northampton Community College to expand its Monroe campus May 10, 2007
  13. Monroe Eyes Retrieved February 18, 2010
  14. National Junior College Athletic Association
  15. Region XIX
  16. Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference
  18. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2014/09/police_ambush_suspect_was_mili.html
  19. Music by Prudence Retrieved February 18, 2010
  20. Oscar.com Retrieved March 8, 2010
  21. NCC's Big Night at the Oscars Retrieved March 8, 2010
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