TCC 50 Milestones
How time flies!
1960s
1966-1967
Governor Mills E. Godwin Jr. initiates the state sales tax with the goal of establishing a community college system. The Virginia General Assembly establishes the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to provide college transfer and occupational/technical education.
1967 – 1968
The Beazley Foundation donates the Frederick College site to the Commonwealth of Virginia to begin a community college in South Hampton Roads. The Frederick Campus opens as Region 22 Community College.
1968 – 1969
The College’s name is officially changed to Tidewater Community College, and Douglas Montgomery is named its first president. Harold McGee is named the first provost of the Frederick Campus.
1970s
1970 – 1971
The College begins to use 11 barracks at the Camp Pendleton National Guard facility as a temporary Virginia Beach location. The College holds its first graduation with 55 graduates.
1971 – 1972
The Virginia General Assembly and the City of Virginia Beach allocate $4.7 million to construct the Virginia Beach Campus in the Green Run section. Michael LaBouve is named founding provost.
1972 – 1973
George B. Pass is named president of Tidewater Community College. The Virginia Beach Campus is formally dedicated by Gov. Godwin, the “father” of Virginia community colleges. The City of Chesapeake pledges $1.8 million to open a third campus in Chesapeake and funds the purchase of adjacent land. Chesapeake College is transferred to the city for the campus site, and the campus officially opens on February 1. Timothy H. Kerr is named founding provost.
1973 – 1974
The College graduates its first class of apprentices from its joint apprenticeship program with the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
1974 – 1975
As a first step toward establishing a campus in Norfolk, the College opens the Norfolk Skills Center at a temporary location on 21st Street.
1975 – 1976
A $2 million bond issue is approved to expand the Chesapeake Campus.
1977 – 1978
Construction begins on the first new building on the Chesapeake Campus, later named the George B. Pass Building, for the former president who died shortly after retiring.
1979 – 1980 Gov. John Dalton dedicates the new classroom building at the Chesapeake Campus. The Grammar Hotline, which quickly rises to national recognition, is established on the Virginia Beach Campus.
1980s
1980 – 1981
TCC, through the Virginia Tidewater Consortium, begins offering telecourses on Cox cable television. A $6.2 million, three-phase construction project at the Frederick Campus is completed.
1981 – 1982
Ground is broken for the Pungo Building at the Virginia Beach Campus. The building will house humanities classes, including art and drama programs.
1983 – 1984
The Chesapeake Campus opens the region’s first robotics lab, and the Frederick Campus initiates a $126,000 computer-aided drafting program.
1984 – 1985
Deborah M. DiCroce is named provost of the Frederick Campus.
1985 – 1986 Gov. Gerald L. Baliles dedicates the Pungo Building at the Virginia Beach Campus.
1986 – 1987
The Frederick Campus is renamed the Frederick W. Beazley Portsmouth Campus to better reflect its ties to the city.
1988 – 1989
Belle S. Wheelan, later to become president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, becomes provost of the Portsmouth Campus.
1990s
1990 – 1991
Former President George B. Pass retires as president emeritus. Larry L. Whitworth is named the third president of TCC.
1991 – 1992
John Massey is named director of development for the Norfolk Campus.
1992 – 1993
The Women’s Center is established on the Portsmouth Campus to promote economic self-sufficiency for women. Within three years, it evolves from a single campus to a college-wide entity with offices on all four campuses.
1993 – 1994
With start-up costs funded by the Virginia General Assembly and a substantial contribution by the City of Norfolk, construction begins on the Norfolk Campus.
1994 – 1995
The Visual Arts Center opens in the old Famous department store building in Olde Towne Portsmouth with Anne Iott serving as the founding director.
1996 – 1997
John Massey is named the founding provost of the Norfolk Campus, which officially becomes the Thomas W. Moss Jr. Campus of Tidewater Community College. Larry Whitworth resigns as president, and Timothy Kerr is appointed interim president.
1997 – 1998
Deborah M. DiCroce is named the fourth president of Tidewater Community College.
1998 – 1999
On June 18, guests witness the groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of the historic, long-closed Loews Theater at 340 Granby Street in downtown Norfolk.
1999 – 2000 The Loews Theater, renamed the TCC Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center, becomes the fourth building in the ongoing development of the Norfolk Campus.
2000s
2000 – 2001
Consultants complete a feasibility study on the Portsmouth Campus relocation.
2001 – 2002
The Advanced Technology Center, located on the Virginia Beach Campus, opens its doors. Voters approve the Higher Education General Obligation Bond Referendum, which includes $40 million in projects for TCC.
2002 – 2003
The college relocates District Office personnel and functions from the Portsmouth Campus in Suffolk to office space in downtown Norfolk. The State Board for Community Colleges grants conceptual approval for relocating the Portsmouth Campus to the Victory Crossing Business Park.
2003 – 2004
Terry Jones is named as the acting provost of the Portsmouth Campus to provide the leadership necessary for the relocation planning for the New Portsmouth Campus.
2004 – 2005
The State Board approves the purchase of “condominium space” for the entire District Office in a new mixed-use building that will be constructed on the site of the old 121 College Place building. The college receives the largest donation in its history, $1.4 million, from the Beazley Foundation to help establish the Beazley School of Nursing on the new Portsmouth Campus. Terry Jones becomes Portsmouth Campus provost.
2006 – 2007 The State Board approves TCC’s business plan for four student centers.
2007 – 2008
District office staff move to the District Administration Building in downtown Norfolk — the first time in the college’s history that all TCC district offices are under the same roof. The TCC Regional Automotive Center, located in the Oakbrooke Business and Technology Center, opens for classes in fall 2008. Construction begins for the new Portsmouth Campus.
2008 – 2009
TCC breaks ground in Norfolk for the first of four student centers. Dedications are held for the Regional Automotive Center and the Green District Administration Building.
2009 – 2010
The new Portsmouth Campus opens for classes in January 2010, relocating from its original site in Suffolk. Thanks to the Great Recession, the college experiences the largest one-year enrollment increase in its history—with all campuses reporting double-digit increases—and serves over 45,000 students.
2010 – Today
2010 – 2011
The first of four student centers opens on the Norfolk Campus.
2011 – 2012
The Regional Health Professions Center, located on the Virginia Beach Campus, opens in January 2012.
Deborah M. DiCroce retires as president in February 2012, and Peter A. Spina is appointed interim president. Edna V. Baehre-Kolovani is named the fifth president of TCC in July 2012.
2012 – 2013
The Center for Military and Veterans Education (CMVE), located on the Virginia Beach Campus, is dedicated in November 2012.
2013-2014
TCC is the first regionally accredited institution in the U.S. to offer a degree program with zero cost for textbooks (the Z-Degree). In addition to the Chesapeake Academic Building, students centers open on the Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach campuses. The $43 million Joint-Use Library opens in August 2013 on the Virginia Beach Campus. TCC partners with the YWCA South Hampton Roads to provide licensed child development centers on all campuses.
2014 – 2015
The Precision Machining Lab, outfitted with equipment donated by local area manufactures and focuses on educating students in fast-growing, high-wage occupations, opens on the Chesapeake Campus in November.
2015 – 2016
Gov. Terry McAuliffe announces in May that TCC is the latest Virginia institution to be named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE2Y) by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
2016 – 2017
The college partners with Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and Peregrine Technical Solutions to launch the first cybersecurity apprenticeships in Virginia. The TCC Women’s Center STEM Promise Program, which aims to increase the number of women and minority students earning certain STEM degrees at TCC, enrolls its first cohort of 10 students.
2017 – 2018
The college launches its major gifts campaign, Go Further! TCC’s Campaign for a Competitive Workforce, and announces it will move visual arts programs from Portsmouth to a new facility in the NEON District of Norfolk, along with culinary arts and restaurant management, on the site of the Greyhound bus station. President Kolovani retires as TCC’s fifth president and Gregory T. DeCinque is named interim president.