Mid Michigan Community College (MMCC) is a two-year public community college founded in 1965. The college has two full service locations, one in Harrison and one in Mt. Pleasant. MMCC offers one and two year certificates and associate degrees in transfer, occupational, and health science programs. Students can choose from a wide array of career programs like nursing, radiography, welding, CAD, and many others. MMCC’s transfer programs help students prepare for a four-year degree while earning valuable credits at an affordable cost.
The Harrison Campus is in Harrison, MI on 560 acres (2.3Â km2) of land. The campus offers numerous shady park-like areas for students to spend time out doors, with picnic tables, and benches. The Harrison campus has several trails. These trails are open all year long and free to the public, but users are asked to follow the posted rules. There are four trails that make up the trail system. The three walking/running trails are each 1-mile (1.6Â km) long and make a 3-mile (4.8Â km) loop. No bikes are allowed on these trails. The bike trail is a rigorous 13-mile (21Â km) trail through various terrain and grades. Inside, the main campus features a free-to-students gym with weights, treadmills, and exercise bikes, as well as a lounge with large screen TVs and gaming systems.
MMCC’s Mt. Pleasant Campus is 27 miles south of the Harrison Campus. Located on 44 acres at the corner of Broadway St and Summerton Rd, near US 127, the Mt. Pleasant campus features modern facilities and services that mirror those offered in Harrison. This new facility houses the same services that are found on the Harrison Campus. The Mt. Pleasant campus was constructed in three phases from 2008 through 2014.
The college is best known for its transfer programs and its vocational training (especially in nursing). MMCC partners with all colleges and universities for students interested in transferring. It has a strong partnership with Central Michigan University, also located in Mount Pleasant.
History
The earliest activity in providing a community college to serve the Clare County/Gladwin County area began in 1962. Two years later the concept of the College was endorsed by the two local intermediate districts and the five local school districts within the two counties. As a result of the acceptance of this basic concept, a Citizens Advisory Council was formed to determine the feasibility of establishing a community college. The report of the Council, completed in 1965, recommended the formation of a local community college to serve the residents of the two-county area. The study report was then submitted to the Michigan Department of Public Instruction and notification of approval for the College was received in July, 1965.
In September, 1965, a special election was held to obtain community authorization for establishment of the College, to elect a governing Board of Trustees, and to approve construction and operating millage of 1.5 mills to be levied against the assessed property valuation in the voting district. The favorable response of the voters resulted in official approval by the Michigan State Board of Education to establish Michigan's 25th community college.
During 1966-67, an administrative staff was employed to develop the initial planning for the Campus and for the instructional program. At the same time, the architect was developing a master plan for building construction and development of the entire 560-acre site. Construction of the initial $1.5 million instructional facility began in May, 1968.
In the fall of 1968, the first university parallel and the non-technical classes began in temporary facilities in the Clare County Building in Harrison. The Practical Nursing Program was started at the Central Michigan Community Hospital in Mt. Pleasant and the vocational and technical courses were conducted at the Area Vocational School in Mt. Pleasant. Temporary facilities for the library and audio-visual materials were obtained from the Harrison Public Library. On September 15, 1969, the first classes moved to the present Campus location and on November 24, 1969, all of the remaining classes were moved. Meanwhile, classes continued to be held at the Mt. Pleasant locations.
Construction of the Food Service/Student Center was completed in 1972; the Goldberg Orientation Center, which originally housed the College's child care facilities, and a small engine repair building were added in 1973; the allied health facilities and the Automotive Technology Center were completed in 1976; and the Climate Control Center was constructed in 1979. Technical Trades Center opened for classes in the fall of 1983.
In December 1993, the College purchased a three-story modern office building in Mt. Pleasant. The building was converted to a striking campus facility on an attractive site during 1994. The Mt. Pleasant Campus also serves the Isabella County area.
In the fall of 1998, the College opened an extensive expansion with improvements on the Harrison Campus, adding new science and health education facilities.
In the fall of 1999, MMCC was granted funding for a Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC) to serve business, industry and the community. The Center was completed in 2001 and provides open-entry training for employees and potential employees of industrial and construction trades.
One of the main goals of the College is to better serve students, thus helping them achieve success. This goal was recently achieved with the addition of the Student Orientation and Academic Readiness (SOAR) Center which opened in August 2004. This Center consolidated student services and academic support in one building to provide more comprehensive, coordinated service centered on student needs. Students now have easier access to all services in an inviting atmosphere. Consolidation of services also provides more efficient utilization of human resources and for the first time exhibits an obvious front door for the College.
Recognizing the growing need for skilled healthcare professionals, MMCC opened the Herbert D. Doan Center for Science and Health Technologies in the Spring of 2008. Located on 44 acres in Mt. Pleasant, the Doan Center is a vital part of MMCC's effort to expand its highly respected nursing program and establish new health science programs. The Center doubled MMCC's available space in Mt. Pleasant and provided additional science labs, classrooms, and computer labs.
Further expansion has been ongoing at the site of the Mt. Pleasant Campus. An addition to house student services (built on the same concepts as the Harrison Campus SOAR Center) was completed in March 2011. The Center for Liberal Arts and Business replaced the Pickard Campus in Fall 2014. The new center offers students a full range of services at either location - Harrison or Mt. Pleasant. Finally, the Morey Technical Education Center opened in Fall 2014 on the Mt. Pleasant Campus. The technical center allows the college to meet the workforce demands of the region and compliment the technical training available on the Harrison Campus.
Since the College opened its doors to 196 students in the fall of 1968, it has worked to meet the needs of the community and is now serving more than 6,000 students annually on both a full-time and part-time basis.
References
www.midmich.edu
External links
- Mid Michigan Community College web site
- Trail map