Green River College 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Auburn, Washington Auburn is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States (with a small portion crossing into neighboring Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County). The population was 87,256 at the 2020 United States ...

, United States. It has a student body of over 13,000 and has

satellite campus A satellite campus, branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or country, ...

es in nearby cities of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and

Enumclaw, Washington Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census. The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 ...

. The college primarily awards

associates degree Associate may refer to: Academics * Associate degree, a two-year educational degree in the United States, and some areas of Canada * Associate professor, an academic rank at a college or university * Technical associate or Senmonshi, a Japa ...

s but also offers 9

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

History

Green River College started as a program of adult evening education in 1945 as part of the

Auburn School District Auburn School District No. 408 is a public school district in King County, Washington, seated in Auburn. The district encompasses a 62 square-mile area bridging King County, Washington and Pierce County, Washington, and serves approximately 75 ...

. The school was approved to become a community college in 1963 and began technical and professional programs in September 1964. The school was originally located near the Auburn Boeing plant, but the following year the campus was relocated to its current location on Lea Hill. In 2014 the school changed its name from ''Green River Community College'' to ''Green River College'' and began offering the Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree.

Campus

The main campus is on Lea Hill in Auburn, with satellite campuses in downtown Auburn,

Enumclaw Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census. The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 ye ...

and

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...

Academics

Green River College offers certificate, associate, and applied baccalaureate degree programs, as well as classes to prepare students for academic transfer to a four-year college or university; more than 40 professional and technical programs; and classes in Adult Basic Education and English for speakers of other languages. One of the college's signature programs is Aviation Technology, where students are trained for a variety of careers including Air Traffic Controller and Professional Pilot. Students learn in Green River's new state-of-the-art air traffic control lab and flight simulator. Top transfer programs include business, engineering and IT. Green River offers a wide variety of other majors in sciences, humanities and social sciences. Green River is also known for its strong international program. As of fall 2014, GRC hosted over 1,700 international students from 64 countries, ranking it among the top 10 community colleges in the US in international enrollment. As of Fall 2007 self-reported data, 43% of students are male and 57% female. 61% of students are white, 13% multi-racial, 8% Asian/Pacific Islander, 8% Hispanic, 5% African American, 1% Native American, and 4% other. About 35% of students that leave GRC receive an academic associate degree, 7% earn a vocational associate degree, while another 44% gain vocational certificates. In 2014, Green River College began offering Bachelor of Applied Science degree programs. In the 2017–2018 academic year, 118 (7%) of the 1,586 degrees awarded at Green River were bachelor's degrees.

Student life

Athletics

Green River competes in the Western Region of the

Northwest Athletic Conference The Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), formerly the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC), is a sports association for community colleges in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and along with the Canadian province ...

(NWAC). The college athletic teams are nicknamed the Gators.

Media

Green River College operates KGRG-FM and

KGRG (AM) KGRG (1330 AM) is a 500 watts day and 26 watts at night AM college radio station transmitting from Enumclaw, Washington, licensed to the Green River Foundation and operated by Green River College in Auburn, Washington. The station is called ...

(formerly KENU - Pulse 1330). As with most college radio stations, the staff are mostly students. The GRC student newspaper, ''The Current'', has been published since the college opened in 1965.

Notable people

Tony Barron Anthony Dirk Barron (born August 17, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 7th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft. Barron played for the Montreal Expos in 1995 as a replac ...

, professional baseball player * Jessica Bateman, member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

Mark Emmert Mark Allen Emmert (born December 16, 1952) is the former president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He was the fifth CEO of the NCAA; he was named as the incoming president on April 27, 2010, and assumed his duties on Nov ...

, president of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

David Riske David Richard Riske ( ; born October 23, 1976) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Career Riske was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 56th round of the June amateur draft. In January , he was traded along with out ...

, professional baseball player *

Tre Simmons Chester Simmons III (born July 24, 1982), better known as Tre Simmons, is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. He played college basketball for Odessa, Green River CC and Washington before playing professionally i ...

, professional basketball player and coach *

Doug Sisk Douglas Randall Sisk (born September 26, 1957), is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. His primary pitch was a sinker that was difficult for batters to drive in the air. Early years Sisk earned all-league honors both seas ...

, professional baseball player *

Tony Tost Tony Tost (born 1975) is an American film director, poet, critic and screenwriter. He is the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of ''Damnation'', a neo-western period drama about the labor wars in America during the 1930s that aired on US ...

, poet, critic, and screenwriter

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Auburn, Washington Education in Kent, Washington Universities and colleges established in 1963 Community colleges in Washington (state) Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges in King County, Washington 1963 establishments in Washington (state) Articles containing video clips Aviation schools in the United States Two-year colleges in the United States