Baltimore City Community College dates its origins to the Baltimore Junior College, founded as part of the Baltimore City Public School System in 1947 to provide post-high school education for returning World War II veterans and was the inspiration of Dr. Harry Bard. It was one of the earliest examples of the growing "junior college" movement which began at the beginning of the century and has resulted in the growth of present-day "community colleges" all across America, serving the intermediate needs between high schools and large colleges and universities. It was located on the third floor of the Baltimore City College, third oldest public high school in America located at 33rd Street and The Alameda in the northeast city which was a specialized academic magnet school for the arts, humanities and social sciences.
By 1959 it had relocated to a park-like campus in the northwest city along Liberty Heights Avenue. In 1967, the College was renamed the Community College of Baltimore and restructured as an independent institution of the City of Baltimore government. By the middle of the 1970s, Dr. Bard's ideal of an additional campus in the revitalized downtown Inner Harbor was realized with the construction of two buildings along East Lombard Street named the Bard and Lockwood Buildings.
In the 1980s City and State leaders recognized that shrinking City resources made it difficult for the City to operate a quality institution of higher education. On July 1, 1990, the Maryland General Assembly created a new institution, New Community College of Baltimore, funded by the State of Maryland. The College was granted permanent status in 1992 and renamed Baltimore City Community College. In 1997, BCCC celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In the 2000s, BCCC began to experience significant difficulties. Problems began to surface in 2004 when faculty held a public protest over issues related to remedial courses and governance. In 2010, faculty gave BCCC president Williams a vote of no-confidence and the state legislature held back funding. These troubles worsened in 2011. BCCC's regional accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, placed BCCC on probation because of "concerns about the school's ability to evaluate student learning." To address these problems, Maryland governor Martin O'Malley replaced the majority of BCCC's board of trustees with new members.
Read more about Baltimore City Community College: Campuses, Radio Station, Notable Alumni
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