As Bob Howard tells it, the story of the founding of Greenville Technical College in 1962 began in, of all places, Ohio.
Soon after Ernest “Fritz” Hollings became governor of South Carolina, he was attending a national governors’ conference in Ohio, says Howard, president of the Greenville Tech Foundation. “He told me he walked out of the hotel one evening on the way to a meeting and looked across the street at a building all lit up and full of people, and said ‘What in the world is that?’” Howard remembers. “It was a technical education center they’d started up there for job training. And he said, ‘We need these in South Carolina.’”
So when Hollings came home, he started laying the groundwork for the state technical education system, which launched in 1961. Greenville County was the first to apply for a Technical Education Center, and in 1962, Greenville TEC, as it was then named, was ready for its first group of 800 students. With just one building on eight acres, its beginnings may have been small, but its mission was clear: get Greenville and its workers ready for the future.
Workforce development has always been at the core of Greenville Tech’s mission, explains college president Dr. Keith Miller. “The college was established to prepare the labor market for an increase and diversification of the state’s industrial base in the 1960s,” he says. Greenville Tech, Miller says, has been instrumental in helping to drive the successful transformation of the city from a textile capital to a world-class business community.
“We have one mission here at the college, and that is student success,” says Steve Valand, the college’s vice president for education and chief academic officer. “We are here to drive personal economic growth through learning.”
Howard says the focus on the future was established early in the college’s history. “They were very visionary. At that time, we were a very textile dominated economy, but people could see the future,” he says. “Textiles are a very cyclical industry, and Greenville was either a boom town or a bust town depending on whether the textile industry was doing well. And so there was the thought that if we could get some other kind of industry, our highs might not be as high, but our lows wouldn’t be as low.”
In 1962, the most popular programs were electronics, data processing, and metalworking, notes Miller. The college’s programs have expanded along with the area’s economy, however, and now there are 130 different programs in four divisions – Arts and Sciences, Business and Public Service, Health Sciences and Nursing, and Technologies – and employers work with the college to see that the curriculum meets current and emerging needs.
“We are often at the table with local economic development leaders when recruiting business and industry to the state,” says Miller. “Then we help new companies get started by providing a well-qualified workforce, and we help existing companies grow by growing employee skills.”
The large industries that have come to the Upstate would have looked elsewhere if not for Greenville Tech, Valand maintains. “We’re willing to sit down with them and customize training to meet their needs – without that, they’re more than likely not going to be that interested in this area,” he says. “They’ve got to have highly skilled workers in those environments. We’ve worked with BMW, we’ve worked with Michelin, and we’ve worked with a cross-section of small businesses to help them get the workforce they need to manufacture the products that they do.” Workforce development remains important, says Valand, but “while that was our initial focus, we are now a comprehensive community college, meaning that we offer a cross-section of different kinds of education.” The academic program now offers 36 associate’s degrees, eight diploma programs, and 83 certificates. The school also has approximately 4,000 students in its university transfer program, allowing them to work toward a baccalaureate degree by getting their freshman and sophomore credits at a significantly lower cost than a traditional four-year school.
Greenville Tech also offers non-credit continuing education options, which local workers can use to get additional occupational training or pursue other interests. The college has also expanded geographically, with four campuses throughout Greenville County, covering over 500 acres. “We really try to be all things to all people, if you want to know the truth,” laughs Valand, “and that makes it a difficult job sometimes.” As Greenville Tech looks back over the past 50 years, it’s also planning for the future. The college is currently strengthening its IT infrastructure, and implementing the renowned Baldridge process improvement program “so that all areas of the college are aligned and working toward achievement of the college’s strategic imperatives,” says Miller. Greenville Tech is also anticipating the results of a year-long project to develop an academic and facilities master plan. With the help of JMZ Architects and Planners in New York state, they’re forecasting the needs of Greenville’s businesses and workforce and developing a list of programs that will meet those needs for the next decade or longer, Valand says. “We’re excited about this plan,” he says. “It’s going to be a blueprint for us to follow in the next 5 to 10 years.”
So how does a thriving community college celebrate a 50th anniversary? “Each campus will celebrate this milestone with an event that is geared to the programs and people at that location, and both employees and students will have a voice in the planning,” says Miller. The celebrations will culminate with a gala dinner in September, at which a book on the college’s history will be presented to guests. Greenville Tech is also publishing a 50th Anniversary Newsletter, and presenting information online through a special Facebook group (www.facebook.com/GreenvilleTech50th). Keeping their eyes focused forward has helped Greenville Tech be a major contributing factor to the Upstate’s success, boasts Howard. Besides the Greenville County school district, “I can’t think of any other institution that has had a bigger impact on Greenville,” he says. “And if you think about it, I don’t think you’ll think of one, either.”
Greenville Tech’s Golden Highlights
From one building on eight acres, with 800 students and 32 faculty members, Greenville Tech has come a long way. Here are a few of the milestones they’ve passed on the journey:
September 5, 1962: Greenville Technical Education Center opens its doors to students.
1964: After the closing of Donaldson Air Force Base, the site is reopened as the Donaldson Business Center (now known as the SC Technology and Aviation Center), attracting more and larger industries to the Upstate. The center will eventually be the home of Greenville Tech’s Aircraft Maintenance Technology and Truck Driver Training Programs.
November 1965: The college expands to 130 acres.
February 1966: The Adult Education Program begins.
September 1966: Tech begins offering a two-year college transfer program, first in partnership with Clemson University, then independently in 1973.
December 1968: The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits Greenville Tech to award associate’s degrees, diplomas, and certificates.
May 1970: The Health Careers Center is formally dedicated. The program will grow to offer 11 degrees, three diplomas, and 14 certificates, covering such specialties as nursing, dental hygiene, radiology, massage therapy, and veterinary medicine.
1978: The Center for Continuing Education for Women is formed. It soon merges with the counseling program to become the Career Advancement Center, which provides pre-employment screening and testing for area industries.
1982: The college is reaffirmed by SACS. Enrollment grows to approximately 30,000. SACS also reaffirms the college in 1992 and 2002.
1990: Telecourses and teleclasses are introduced. The college focuses on technology throughout the 1990s, creating open access to computer labs and eventually leading to College Online.
1996: The Greer and Brashier Campuses open. 2003: The Mckinney Regional Automotive Technology Center is dedicated. 2004: The college partners with Nissan North America to launch an Automotive Technicial Training program.
2008: The Northwest Campus opens in Berea.
2011-2012: The college works with JMZ Architects and Planners to develop a Master Plan for the next decade, anticipating the region’s developmental needs.
September 2012: Greenville Technical College celebrates its 50th anniversary with events at all campuses, a dinner gala, and a book on the college’s history.
Learn more: For further highlights from Greenville Tech’s history, visit www.gvltec.edu.