As we celebrate our 75th anniversary throughout this 2021-2022 academic year, we honor the generations who came before us as we build on that foundation for all those who come after.
HCC was born on Sept. 9, 1946. On that day, 75 years ago, the Holyoke School Committee voted to establish the Holyoke Graduate School, which became Holyoke Junior College a year later and finally Holyoke Community College in the fall of 1967.
And then, on Jan. 4, 1968, HCC’s main campus building, the former Holyoke High School on Sargeant Street, famously went up in flames.
That was a pivotal moment in the history of HCC as city officials and Holyoke residents worked tirelessly to ensure the college was rebuilt in Holyoke.
That passion and pride for HCC is why we are here today. Our roots, history and mission engendered a fierce loyalty in the community then, and still does today.
HCC is a transformative place. We meet students where they are, determine what they need, empower them to see their own potential, guide them along their educational journey, and stand proudly with them at graduation. Engaging deeply with their academic subjects and forging meaningful connections with faculty and staff, our students come to believe in themselves and what they can do. An HCC education opens doors – to jobs, new careers, and educational opportunities at prestigious four-year colleges and universities – but the most profound doors HCC opens for students are the ones in their minds.
During my inauguration address in 2017, I shared my belief that the next decade would bring significant change to higher education – some disruptive. Of course, none of us could have foreseen the challenges 2020 would bring and the dramatic ways we would need to shift in response to a global pandemic. However, as I said then and still believe today: innovation is the thread that binds our past and future.
Like those who were part of our founding in 1946, we aspire to excellence and are committed to providing educational opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds so they can create better lives for themselves and their families. What you will read in this and future editions of this reimagined and renamed magazine are inspirational stories of the impact that HCC has not just on individuals but on our entire region.
As we launch the 2021-2022 academic year and celebrate this moment in our college’s history, let us renew our commitment to serving new generations of students. Let us celebrate our willingness to innovate, learn, and take risks as we remember the past and imagine the endless possibilities we can create and achieve during the next 75 years.
