Highline Community College, In the Beginning

In October 1958, the primary question posed by the Highline School District was whether the district needed a junior college. The district appointed a fourteen-man committee to make a thorough study of this question and decided to propose building a community junior college. The committee then presented this information to the local PTA groups. The committee found that such a community school would offer a variety of advantages:

· Low-cost college training
· Facilities for both the students who wish to continue work at senior college or university and those who desire advanced vocational and technical training
· And facilities for adults who desire further education

The parental reaction to the committee’s findings were reported to the school board for consideration in early November (“Jr. College Study Committee Seeks Parents’ Reaction”).

In 1959, State Senator Andy Hess referred Bill No. 396 to the Committee on Education. As stated in Section 1 of the proposal:

The purpose of this act is to authorize and encourage the establishment and operation of junior colleges designed to meet the needs and interests of high school graduates and others for whom educational and vocational opportunities would not otherwise be available and to provide a state plan for the orderly development of such programs. (Senate Bill No. 396)

This junior college bill was not passed easily. After Hess worked on the bill for two years, it sat bottled up in theSenate Rules Committee. Senator Hess was starting to feel like his bill would not make it to the senate floor for a vote, but at the same time felt confident that all possible objections were covered and once it was brought out of committee the bill would pass (“Annexation Bill Probably Will Pass”).

Finally, Hess’s perseverance paid off. The State Board of Education authorized the Highline School District to establish a junior college. In September 1961, Highline Junior College opened its doors at the Glacier High School campus. While the junior college was being built the Glacier site would accommodate the three hundred students who began taking classes at the state’s newest junior college. It would be three years before the school would open its own doors to students.

A faculty staff of thirteen teachers in the school taught forty-seven separate courses. Since the college was offering day and evening classes, Dr. Rodney Berg, who was hired as the college president a year earlier, anticipated that the first year’s enrollment would be more than one thousand students (“Highline College Opens Doors For First Time Monday”).

The land selected for the permanent college campus was an 80-acre lot located at Pacific Highway South and South 240th Street overlooking the Puget Sound. Called the Zenith site, this property would be leased from the state (“Zenith Site Sought For Highline J.C.”).

Securing matching state funds was the next obstacle, and the final commitment of state funds would not be determined until March 1962. The school district wanted a larger facility than originally proposed in the bill. A larger facility was agreed upon and construction began for a unit of 185,000 square feet that would serve fifteen hundred students (“Final Decision On State Funds For Highline College Put Off To March 28”).

Finally, in August 1962, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of eight buildings. These first buildings would have forty classrooms that would accommodate fifteen hundred students. In attendance at the groundbreaking were Dr. M.A. Allan, president of the college, and Carl Jensen, superintendent of Highline Public Schools (“Groundbreaking Rites Held At Highline College”).

As an additional accomplishment for this junior college project, the Bremerton Sun reported that the architect, Ralph Burkhard, won a national citation for exceptional design from the American Association of School Administrators. The screening jury described Burkhard’s design as “providing an exciting education environment” (“Highline College Wins Design Award”).

Commencement ceremonies for the first graduating class of Highline Community College were held on June 6, 1963, and conferred degrees on forty-one graduates. Louis Bruno, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said, “This is an historic occasion. Mark this date well, for you are taking your place on the American scene in the role of Community Colleges” (“State Superintendent Marks Historic First Commencement”).

The objectives of Highline Community College were provided in a bound booklet labeled – LWV of Highline/”Highline—Your Community” and are as follows:

· To provide its students with a broad, comprehensive, general education.
· To offer university parallel courses equivalent to the courses of the first two years of a senior college.
· To provide a program of technical and vocational curricula.
· To offer a program for adults including academic, technical, and community service courses. (LWV of Highline)

In 1963, Highline Community College broke tradition by being placed in an urban area, filling a community need for higher education. Highline Community College has seen many changes over the past forty years, but to this day all the objectives listed above are still being met. There has been an immense growth in enrollment, and new areas of study and new buildings are continually being added to accommodate the growing needs of the students and faculty.

Work Cited

“Annexation Bill Probably Will Pass; Jr. College Bill In Trouble,” Highline Times news article, H.C.C. archives, box #24

“Final Decision On State Funds for Highline College Put Off To March 28,” Highline Times 2/8/62, H.C.C. archives, box #24

“Groundbreaking Rites Held At Highline College,” Seattle Post Intelligencer, August, H.C.C. archives, Box #24

“Highline College Opens Doors For First Time Monday,” news article, H.C.C. archives, box #24

“Highline College Wins Design Award,” Bremerton Sun news article, H.C.C. archives, box 24 “

Jr. College Study Committee Seeks Parents’ Reaction,” news article, 10/10/58, H.C.C. archives, box #24

LWV of Highline “Highline - Your Community,” Booklet, pg. #52, H.C.C. archives, box #24

“Senate Bill No. 396,” February 11, 1959, Section 1, H.C.C. archives, box #24
“State Superintendent Marks Historic First Commencement,” Highline Times, 6/13/63, H.C.C. archives, box #24

“Zenith Site Sought For Highline J.C.,” news article, H.C.C. archives, box #24