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Montgomery College (MC) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
in
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
. Founded officially in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College, its name comes from the county in which it is located. The earliest start date that can be contributed to Montgomery College is October 15, 1893, when the Bliss Electrical School began. Bliss was absorbed by the current college in 1950 and became the electrical program for the school. The college has three campuses, the largest of which is in Rockville. Its other campuses are in
Takoma Park Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree Ci ...
/ Silver Spring and
Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ger ...
. Its off-campus sites include the Business Training Center in
Gaithersburg Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Ga ...
and Westfield South in Wheaton, which are operated by the college's Workforce Development and Continuing Education Division.


History


19th century

The Bliss Electrical School was a private, for-profit institution in Takoma Park, Maryland. Established in 1893 and named after its founder Louis D. Bliss. Its first class was on October 15, 1893, in a single room on the third floor of Water Building at the corner of Ninth and Ebbs Street. It was a night class with 26 students, including Thomas E. Robertson, who would later go on to be the United States Commissioner of Patents. The capital investment in the school was $400, representing an advance payment of $20 each from 20 men. Two years later in 1895,
Charles Francis Jenkins Charles Francis Jenkins (August 22, 1867 – June 6, 1934) was an American engineer who was a pioneer of early cinema and one of the inventors of television, though he used mechanical rather than electronic technologies. His businesses incl ...
, of motion picture and television fame, enrolled as a student at Bliss.


20th century

W. B. Connelly, a 1904 graduate of Bliss, had charge for the General Electric Company at Schenectady of the inspection of some two miles of switchboards for the control of the Panama Canal electric installation. Before going to the GE company, Connelly was on the staff at Bliss, and instructed Skipwith B. Cole, then a student, and later dean of the faculty at Bliss. On November 6, 1908, the entire plant of the Bliss Electrical School, at Takoma Park was destroyed by fire and it had to relocate to a new position. William Jennings Bryant, Secretary of State, addressed the graduating class of the Bliss Electrical School in the church auditorium in the Calvary Baptist Church on June 3, 1914. In 1917, the United States entered the First World War. By special permission granted by the War Department, the Bliss Electrical School organized a searchlight company of engineers consisting of 57 men from the 1917 class, headed by Lt. Clyde K. Krisee of the faculty, and under Major ohn C.Gotwals of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army. This company went overseas with the First Division of the American Expeditionary Forces. These men were used for instruction purposes in a searchlight school in Paris. All returned safely to the United States after the war except one, who was killed in an automobile accident in Paris. The captured German searchlight, which adorns the campus, was presented to the Bliss Electrical School by the War Department as a tribute to the work of the Bliss Searchlight Company of Engineers. At the request of the War Department in 1918, Bliss School prepared an intensive training course in the fundamentals of electricity for drafted men entering the Army. This course was adopted by the War Department, and was the first course used in all the colleges throughout the country, giving instructions along this line to army personnel in the Student Army Training Corps. The school contracted with the War Department to house, feed, and instruct selected groups of soldiers for this course. Beginning June 15, 1918, the school trained 700 soldiers in three detachments. The contract called for training these men at cost. This cost was determined by the auditors in the War Department at $2.00 for the first detachment, at $1.80 for the second detachment, and $1.62 for the third detachment per man per day for housing, feeding, instruction, and supplies. The school was under military control following instruction hence, following the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The third and last detachment of the Student Army Training Corps was mustered out and disbanded on December 6, 1918, and the school was released from military control. In 1919 Bliss returned to civilian training. The first edition of the Bliss School textbook, Theoretical and Practical Electrical Engineering, was published in September 1921. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Bliss had the distinction of being selected by the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
as one of six engineering schools to give Primary School in the
Electronics Training Program The Electronics Training Program (ETP) was the name commonly used for an unusual, difficult, and selective training activity of the United States Navy during World War II. The ETP combined college-level classroom instruction with laboratories i ...
and it graduated over 3,000 students. Bliss Electrical School's building was sold to Montgomery County for $350,000. The current college was organized in 1946 as "Montgomery Junior College," with its campus located at the
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (B-CC) is a public high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is named for two of the towns it serves; it also serves Kensington and Silver Spring. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda. In May ...
.Donnell, Thomas J. O. (September 11, 1946).
6 New Junior Colleges in State to Open: Tuition Fee Presents Problem In Establishing Any In City
. ''The Baltimore Sun''. p. 28.
Its first
dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
was Hugh G. Price. The first day of class was held on September 16, 1946. During its first school year, it had about 175 students. In 1950, the college moved to Takoma Park, absorbing the Bliss Electrical SchoolExperts Meet To Revise Junior College
. ''The Washington Post''. August 15, 1950. p. 8.
Previously, Montgomery Junior College could only hold evening classes because the high school used the building for its classes during the day, but with the acquisition of Bliss Electrical School's building, Montgomery Junior College began holding daytime classes as well.Montgomery Junior College Coming of Age
. ''The Washington Post''. August 27, 1950. p. L3.
The first day of classes at the new location began on October 2, 1950. At the time, it was segregated, with an enrollment of over 500 students. The newly established
Carver Junior College Carver Junior College, in Cocoa, Florida, was established by the Brevard County Board of Public Instruction in 1960 to serve black students, at the same time that it founded Brevard Junior College, now Eastern Florida State College, for white stude ...
in Rockville was expected to have 40 African-Americans enrolled, but only 19 managed to show up, due both to problems in finding transportation to school and the cost of tuition. The Rockville campus of Montgomery College opened in September 1965, and the Germantown campus opened in early 1970s, occupying its present permanent site since 1978. Montgomery College also offers learning opportunities through its extensive Workforce Development and
Continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...
programs.


21st century

In 2010, DeRionne Pollard assumed leadership of Montgomery College, and its three campuses. She spearheaded the development of a new Montgomery College mission and strategic plan. She has partnered actively with Montgomery County Public Schools and the universities at Shady Grove in the creation of Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES), a support program designed to help disadvantaged students transition from high school to college completion. The program now has 1,700 students enrolled. Montgomery College is also a member of Achieving the Dream network, a non-governmental reform movement for student success at community colleges. On November 28, 2016, NBC 4 announced its investigation into frivolous spending claims made by students and staff against Pollard. NBC 4 had received letters from staff throughout the summer pleading for the news organization to investigate the president. In response to the investigation the school released a statement regarding the high amounts spent. They claimed that none of the charges were unjustified, and that there was no inappropriate use of college funds. Despite the school's statements supporting Pollard, many students and staff still felt the amount spent was unnecessary, but the matter was dropped.


Campuses


Takoma Park / Silver Spring

The Takoma Park campus began expanding into neighboring city of Silver Spring with the opening of a new Health Sciences Center in January 2004. The campus expansion in Silver Spring included the addition of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Arts Center which opened in fall 2007. The building houses the campus visual arts programs and the School of Art + Design, formerly the Maryland College of Art and Design, which merged with Montgomery College in September 2004. To reflect the campus's expansion into Silver Spring, the Board of Trustees renamed the Takoma Park campus as the "Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus" in June 2005. The Cultural Arts Center, which contains two theaters, opened in 2009.


Rockville

In 2008, Montgomery College named its Rockville Campus gallery the Sarah Silberman Art Gallery. In addition to donating $500,000 for its complete renovation, Sarah Silberman funded two endowed scholarships in ceramics and sculpture. In 2011, Montgomery College built its new Science Center on the Rockville Campus which features 29 new laboratories. In January 2017, the new North Garage with over 900 covered parking spaces was opened on the Rockville campus.


Germantown

In 2011, the Montgomery College Germantown Campus started to expand with the addition of the Life Sciences Park which features the new Holy Cross Germantown Hospital. In 2014, the Germantown Campus add a new Bioscience Education Center which features wet labs, a detached greenhouse complex, and a meeting/conference center.


Libraries

The Montgomery College Libraries system has a location at each campus.


Organization and administration

The Montgomery College Foundation is a
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
(tax-exempt) charitable organization governed by business, alumni and community members. The foundation, with assets of $126,554,999, according to the 2017
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
990 form, also helps fund the college, placing it among the top five community colleges in the nation in private funding. Montgomery College's fiscal year 2019 tax-supported operating budget was $262 million, with funding from Montgomery County, the state of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and student tuition and fees.


Presidents

The president of Montgomery College oversees the operations of three academic campuses of Montgomery College in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. * Hugh G. Price (1948–1953) * Donald E. Deyo (1953–1965) * George A. Hodson (1965–1966) * William C. Strasser (1966–1979) * Robert E. Parilla (1979–1998) *
Charlene R. Nunley Charlene R. Nunley (born 1950) was the first woman to become president of Montgomery College, which is located in the state of Maryland in the United States. Formative years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1950, Nunley was awarded Bachelor o ...
(1998–2007) *
Brian K. Johnson Brian K. Johnson, EdD is a CEO and former community college President. Education Brian Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Ottawa University. He earned a M.A. in education and Ed.D. in educational leadership from Northern Ari ...
(2007–2009) * Hercules Pinkney (2009–2010, acting) * DeRionne P. Pollard (2010–2021) * Charlene Mickens Dukes (2021–2022, interim) * Jermaine F. Williams (2022–present)


Academics

Montgomery College has an enrollment of over 55,000 credit and noncredit students. Of the
Montgomery County Public Schools Montgomery County Public Schools may refer to: *Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) *Montgomery County Public Schools (Virginia) Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is the school district serving Montgomery County, Virginia. Schools P ...
graduates who choose to stay in Maryland for college, 56% attend Montgomery College within the following academic year.Montgomery College
"Montgomery College At a Glance."
Accessed July 13, 2010.
The college is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse in the nation, with students from over 170 countries enrolled. The student body of the college is 54% female and 46% male; 90% of college students are in-county residents; and the student body ethnicity is 27% black, 25% hispanic, and 23% white. The college also employs more than 1,500 faculty members. Montgomery College is accredited by the
Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...
. It offers
associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...
s and a variety of professional certificates and letters of recognition. The degrees offered are Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.), Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.), Associate of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T.), and Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.). The Rockville campus offers more than 600 courses in more than 40 curricula. The Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus is known for its nursing and allied health science career programs, and the Germantown campus is known for its science programs including computer science and biotechnology. Montgomery College offers study abroad to over 25 countries. In 2018, Montgomery College students transferred to 375 four-year colleges and universities in 48 states and Puerto Rico.


Admissions and costs

As with most community colleges, admission to Montgomery College is not selective. The college is open to students who are high school graduates or have received their General Equivalency Diploma (GED); the college does not require standardized test scores, such as the SAT or ACT, for admission. The total tuition and fees per semester, as of 2022, with 15-hours of credits are: * $2,661 — Montgomery County resident * $5,127 — Maryland state resident * $7,017 — Non Maryland resident Costs can be more complex than the listed prices, as certain students can qualify for financial aid in the forms of scholarships, student loans, work-study programs, and grants. Tuition rates can be impacted by county budgets and admission trends.


Student life


Media

Each of Montgomery College's three campuses has its own student-run newspaper: ''The Globe'' (Germantown), ''The Advocate'' (Rockville), and ''The Excalibur'' (Takoma Park/Silver Spring). At its Rockville campus, the college also operates eRadio WMCR, a student-run online radio station, and the award winnin
MCTV
a 24/7 cable channel that produces programming for and about the college community.


Athletics

The Montgomery College athletics teams are collectively known as the Raptors. During the Spring 2012 semester the college rebranded the mascot to be representative of all campuses. Sports teams are divided among campuses and compete in the
NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
. Prior to the Spring 2012 semester, each Montgomery College campus had its own athletic teams. The athletic teams were formerly known as the Knights of the Rockville Campus, the Falcons of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, and the Gryphons of the Germantown Campus. The basketball/volleyball arena, Knights Arena in Rockville, was home to the
Maryland Nighthawks The Washington GreenHawks were a team of the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL) based in Washington, D.C. As the Maryland Nighthawks they were formerly part of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and a founding member of ...
of the
Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived un ...
for the 2007 season, before the team moved to
Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit board ...
Field House. The baseball field, Knights Field, is the home field of the
Rockville Express The Rockville Express is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Rockville, Maryland. Most of its players are drawn from the college ranks. The team is a member of the Maryland Collegiate Baseball League (MCBL) and a former member of the Cal ...
, a member of the
Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League The Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league located in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, metropolitan areas. The CRCBL is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NA ...
. In the Fall 2018 semester, Montgomery College teams were elevated to Division I and Division II levels. The Montgomery College teams elevated to the Division I level were men's soccer, women's soccer, men's outdoor track and field, and women's outdoor track and field. The Montgomery College volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, and softball teams are now competing in NJCAA Division II.


National championships

The Knights (Rockville Campus) women's tennis team won the
NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
Division III National Championship in 2001 and again in 2006. Montgomery College-Rockville golfer Brent Davis won the
NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
Division III Individual Championship in 2005 with a score of 288. The Raptors women's track and field team won back to back NJCAA Division III National Championships in 2015 and 2016. The Raptors men's track and field team won back to back to back NJCAA Division III National Championships in 2014, 2015, and 2016.


Notable people

Montgomery College has served over 450,000 credit students since its founding in 1946 including : *
Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
– American singer-songwriter *
Dubfire Ali Shirazinia ( fa, علی شیرازی‌نیا), commonly known by his stage name Dubfire, is an Iranian American house and techno DJ and producer. Prior to his solo career, Dubfire made up half of the duo Deep Dish. Dubfire's style is notic ...
– Iranian-American house and
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
DJ *
Neal Fredericks Neal Leslie Fredericks (July 24, 1969 – August 14, 2004) was an American cinematographer best known for the 1999 horror film ''The Blair Witch Project''. Career Born in California, Fredericks grew up in Maryland, where he attended Montgomery ...
(1989) – cinematographer *
Molly Guion Molly Guion (23 September 1910 – 1982) was an American portrait painter. She taught at the Art Students League of New York. Early life and education Molly Guion was born in New Rochelle, New York on 23 September 1910. Her parents were Cl ...
, artist * Paul James – American television and film actor *
Zayed Khan Zayed Abbas Khan (born 5 July 1980) is a former Indian actor and producer who appeared in Hindi films. The son of Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan, he has received a Filmfare Award nomination. After graduating in Business Management at the Montgom ...
– Indian actor *
Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), '' Higher G ...
*
Rick Leventhal Richard Gary Leventhal (born January 24, 1960) is an American reporter. He was a senior correspondent for Fox News Channel from June 1997 to June 2021. Before joining Fox, he spent 10 years in local news, reporting and anchoring in markets inclu ...
– American news reporter and correspondent for
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
*
Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...
– former United States Army soldier convicted of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly 750,000 military and diplomatic documents. * Komelia Hongja Okim – sculptor, professor emeritaThe artist's website
/ref> * Eduardo Sánchez (1990) – director of
The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez (director), Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Mic ...
. *
Barbara Walsh Barbara Walsh (born June 3, 1955) is an American musical theatre actress who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions. Walsh is known for her Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominated role as Trina in the original Broadway productio ...
– American musical theatre actress of Broadway shows, who received a Tony Award nomination * Jerome Williams – former professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player for the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) *
Morgan Wootten Morgan Bayard Wootten (April 21, 1931January 21, 2020) was an American high school basketball coach for 46 seasons at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He led the Stags to five national championships and 33 Washington Catholi ...
– American high school basketball coach


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery College, Maryland 1946 establishments in Maryland Community and junior colleges in Maryland Educational institutions established in 1946 Universities and colleges in Montgomery County, Maryland NJCAA athletics