Montgomery College Celebrates 75th Anniversary

Montgomery College in Maryland has been celebrating its 75th anniversary during the current academic year.

It was founded in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College and now operates from multiple sites. The first classes held at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and the former Bliss Electrical School served as the first campus.  Accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools was gained in 1950. The Takoma Park/Silver Springs Campus also opened in 1950, followed by the Rockville Campus in 1965 and the Germantown Campus in 1978.

50th Anniversary of Garrett Gollege's Founding

Garrett College is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1971 as Garrett Community College. The institution with its main campus in McHenry, MD changed its name to Garrett College after 2002. 

You can review an outline by President Richard Midcap of the key anniversary activities. Or, you can visit the 50th anniversary landing page for links to a variety of photographs and other historical documents.

Garrett College currently enrolls 624 students and employs 23 full time and 44 part time faculty.

Howard Community College Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1970. You can visit the the 50th Anniversary web pages for a short video, timeline, a gallery of historical photographs, and a schedule of planned activities culminating in early 2021. 

A History of Howard Community College 1970-2020 written by by professor emeritus Vladimir G. Marinich and associate professor of history Rosemary Williams is also available for online viewing.

From MAC to UMD: Mapping Campus History

The University of Maryland Archives posted a wonderful new online resource, From MAC to UMD, that presents the "...development of the UMD campus from its earliest days as the Maryland Agricultural College to the present."

"New UMD Story Map Unveiled" was posted on the Terrapin Tales blog where the Story Map author and guest blogger Caitlin Burke, provides details of her research process and the technology she used to create the online resource.

Burke used ArcGIS, a geographic information software owned by Esri, to create the UMD Story Map.

Maryland Agricultural College in College Park, MD was initially chartered in 1856. The institution was beset with financial difficulties after the Civil War and the State of Maryland acquired one-half ownership in 1866 and then assumed full state control in 1916. It was renamed Maryland State College and became part of the University of Maryland in 1920.

National Park Seminary: Videos Provide History and Document Efforts to Preserve the Site

National Park Seminary operated at Forest Glen, Maryland from 1894-1942 and a dedicated group of volunteers has successfully sustained interest in the history of the site by organizing tours, publishing books, and preserving memories.

The Save Our Seminary website offers a link to a 15-minute video, "Paths to the Present #81 - National Park Seminary in Forest Glen," completed by County Cable Montgomery highlighting local history.  Paths to the Present, revisited National Park Seminary in early 2014 and found the buildings and grounds of the former school revitalized as a residential community. 

You can also view an excellent slide show, "Photographic Tour of Save Our Seminary at Forest Glen," from 2010 that includes many images and corresponding historical narrative.

A 1998 video, "Saving the Ghosts of Forest Glen," provides many historic images of National Seminary and the details of Save Our Seminary attempts to preserve the site. The video was produced by Wayne Mara for Montgomery County Community Television.

You can learn more about National Park Seminary and find links to additional resources by visiting a couple of earlier College History Garden posts:

• Monday, June 18, 2012, National Park Seminary (MD)
• Tuesday, February 27, 2018, The History of National Park Seminary Featured in The Washington Post

125th Anniversary: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

The HUB news website at Johns Hopkins University published a post, "The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine at 125: Exhibition traces more than a century of medical milestones," with details on an anniversary exhibit now on display through March 18, 2019 in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library on the university's Homewood campus.

You can also visit the 125th anniversary web pages for an array of other resources that include a timeline of milestones and discoveries, a short "125 Years of Innovations" video, a Female Faculty Timeline, and brief sketches of current faculty, staff or students.

You can also find a longer YouTube video of just under 9-minutes, "125 Years of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine."

Education Corporation of America Closes over 75 Campuses

The Education Corporation of America headquarter in Birmingham, AL announced today that it will close more than 75 sites that enroll roughly 20,000 students.  The company began the process of notifying students and employees.  The sites include those operating as Brightwood College, Brightwood Career Institute, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America and Virginia College.

You can read more at Inside Higher Ed in an article that was posted earlier today, "Large For-Profit Chain to Close."  WSFA-TV in Montgomery, AL posted a short video with an article, "Virginia College closing in Montgomery, nationwide."

KCRA-TV in Sacramento, CA posted "Brightwood College closing Modesto, Sacramento campuses" on its website.

Thirty-two sites are listed for Brightwood College in eight states on the IPEDS College Navigator site and twenty-seven sites in eleven states are listed for Virginia Colleges.

	Brightwood College Sites	Virginia College Sites
Alabama		4
California	10
Florida		3
Georgia		4
Indiana	2
Louisiana		2
Maryland	3
Mississippi		2
Nevada	1
North Carolina	1	1
Ohio	1
Oklahoma		1
South Carolina		5
Tennessee	1	2
Texas	13	2
Virginia		1
Totals	32	27
# states	8	11

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Fascinating History...University of Maryland University College

The University of Maryland's Special Collections and University Archives posted, "UMD’s Untold History," to its Delve Deeper into History blog on November 13, 2018.

The post provides an historical sketch of the University of Maryland University College (UMUC), now headquartered in Adelphi, MD, that was founded as the College of Special and Continuation Studies, or CSCS, within the University of Maryland's College of Education in 1947.  It separated from the College of Education in 1949, becoming a new college within the University of Maryland.  Then in 1957 it became a separate degree-granting college of the University of Maryland.  The name was changed in 1959 to University College.  Finally, in 1970, UMUC incorporated as University of Maryland University College independent of University of Maryland, College Park.

You can also visit the institution's website for a page providing the UMUC History and Timeline.  The founding mission was to serve students for whom the College Park campus was not a viable option.  This included veterans returning from World War II and UMUC ultimately evolved to offer classes across Maryland. 

In 1949, UMUC became the first institution to send a team overseas to teach college classes to active-duty service members.  The institution expanded the number of overseas sites and later became a leader in distance learning and online courses.

Maryland Public Television offers a 26-minute documentary, "Over There: The Adventures of Maryland's Traveling Faculty," with faculty stories and adventures.

The History of National Park Seminary Featured in The Washington Post

The Washington Post published, "Answer Man visits the National Park Seminary in Forest Glen, Md.," by John Kelly earlier this week.  Kelly provides an interesting historical sketch of the property that became home to National Park Seminary for young women after1894 in Forest Glen, MD.  The seminary occupied the former Forest Inn Hotel that previously operated from 1887-1894.  The seminary name changed to National Park College in 1937 and it then closed in 1942 when the U.S. Army invoked the War Powers Act and condemned the property.

An earlier post on the College History Garden, "National Park Seminary (MD)," includes links to several fascinating web sites devoted to the history of the site.

Campus Landmark Tour: Walking to Reflect on African-American History

The University of Maryland is offering an African-American History and the University of Maryland: A Campus Landmark Tour.  The self-guided walking tour of the campus commissioned by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion highlights landmarks associated with the impact of African Americans at the university and throughout history.  

The landing page for the tour notes, "From its antebellum founding through the present day, Terp life has been shaped by more than just those who wrote the official version of history. There was a time when students and visitors of color were outsiders here, but through the sacrifices of earlier pioneers—reflected in our campus fabric—each brick and blade of glass belongs to them as well."

The materials used in developing the tour and related website were drawn from campus reports and the university libraries and archives.

Consider leaving a note and link in the comment section below this post if you know of other campus walking tours.

Revolutionary College Project: A Digital Archive Documenting the History of Washington College

Washingon College in Chestertown, MD maintains an extensive digital archive of materials on the institution's history known as The Revolutionary College Project.  The effort to document and share information traces back over a decade and reflects the work of students, alumni, staff, and faculty.  

The project was named to reflect the "...fact that Washington College was the only American institution chartered during the Revolutionary War; it was established literally while the Continental Army, under George Washington, was still in the field fighting for the nation's independence. And its founders harbored revolutionary ideas about education, which they - unlike most 18th-century educators - believed must prepare students to serve their communities, nation, and world. "The souls of our youth," William Smith wrote, "must be nursed up to the love of LIBERTY and KNOWLEDGE..."

The archive is divided into separate sections that focus on the founding of the institution, student life, connections to U.S. presidents, alumni, the successful struggle for integration, the history of the Chesapeake and Maryland's Eastern Shore where Washington College is located, and various curiosities.

Closing Services at Brethren Service Center: Site was home to several colleges

The Carroll County Times published an article by Kevin Dayhoff, "Brethren Service Center in New Windsor holds closing worship service," on April 30, 2017.  Dayhoff reports on the closing of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, MD and he provides a short historical sketch of the campus that was home to several colleges from 1843-1942 [New Windsor College (Presbyterian), Calvert College (Catholic), and Blue Ridge College (Church of the Brethren)].

The Brethren have used the site to operate their various disaster relief efforts and will be consolidating those programs at another location in New Windsor.  Dayhoff indicates the site has been purchased by Shanghai Yulun Education Group that plans to operate a preparatory academy.

McDaniel College Launches Sesquicentennial Celebration

McDaniel College in Westminster, MD is launching a year long sesquicentennial celebration of its founding in 1867  The institution was initially known as Western Maryland College and adopted its current name in 2002.  

You can visit McDaniel's 150th anniversary webpages for historical information and more on planned events.

Morgan State University Celebrates Sesquicentennial

Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD is celebrating the sesquicentennial of its founding in 1867.  The institution was initially known as Centenary Biblical Institute and the name changed to Morgan College in 1890.  It then became part of the state system of higher education as Morgan State College in 1939 and changed its name to Morgan State University in 1975.

Sesquicentennial web pages include A Brief History of Morgan State University written by Dwain C. Pruitt and Burney J. Hollis.  There is also a timeline, and information on celebratory events.

Sojourner-Douglass College Closes

Talia Richman reported for The Baltimore Sun on July 22, 2015 that Sojourner-Douglass College would not be holding classes in the fall.  

The U.S. Department of Education Closed School Monthly Report for July 2015 includes entries for the main campus in Baltimore and for branch campuses in Edgewater, Cambridge, Salisbury, Lanham, and Owings-Mills.

Sojourner-Douglass was established in 1972 as the Homestead-Montebello Center of Antioch University.  The institution became independent and adopted the Sojourner-Douglas name on July 1, 1980.

Excellent Reporting on Confrontation over a Name Change at Mount Saint Mary's

Name changes for higher education institutions often pass without a lot of notice.  Sometimes, though, there can lead to conflicts with students, alumni, or other institutions.

Danielle E. Gaines, a reporter for The Frederick News-Post in Maryland, has written a couple of excellent articles in recent weeks that focus on the lawsuit brought by Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, MD against Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles, CA.  The Maryland institution is claiming a recent name change from Mount Saint Mary's College to Mount Saint Mary's University results in trademark infringement.  

Gaines' first article, "Three letters, two universities, one lawsuit," was published on June 19, 2015.  Her second article, " Mount Saint Mary's in Los Angeles: Emmitsburg president applauded name change," ran on July 7, 2015.

   

Her second article, " Mount Saint Mary's in Los Angeles: Emmitsburg president applauded name change," ran on July 7, 2015.  Gaines also developed a nice sidebar summary of several key distinctions between the institutions in terms of the student populations served.

Maryland Colleges that have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names

This table below includes institutions that have closed, merged, or changed their names.  If you note a need for changing or updating information, please notify ray01brown@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

An index with links to separate pages for other states and countries is available.

There is a College History Garden Facebook group or you can view and follow multiple College History Garden boards on Pinterest or there is a board specifically devoted to Maryland colleges.

Thanks for your interest and suggestions!

Last Commencement for National Labor College (MD) #2

Kevin James Shay, writer for Maryland's Gazette.net notes the last commencement this past week at the National Labor College.  You can see an earlier blog from November covering the decision to close the Silver Springs, Maryland institution.

Sojourner-Douglass College Faces Serious Challenges

The Baltimore Sun published an article by Carrie Wells on March 30, 2014 highlighting problems at Sojourner-Douglass College.  The institution in Baltimore, MD was founded as the Homestead-Montebello Center of Antioch College in 1972.  Sojourner-Douglass became an independent institution on February 7, 1980. 

National Labor College (MD)

Ry Rivard authored an article on November 14, 2013 exploring the announced closure of National Labor College.  The institution was founded in 1969 and was dedicated as the George Meany Labor Studies Center in 1974.  The name was changed in 1997 to National Labor College.  The name was again changed in 2000 to George Meany Labor Studies Center-the National Labor College and then to National Labor College-George Meany Campus in 2004.

Another article, "National Labor College to close," in People's World, November 15, 2013, provides additional details.

An article, "A Campus Built by Labor is Going on the Block," by Eugene L. Meyer appeared in the July 31, 2012 New York Times.