Cowley Community College

Cowley College

Established	1922 (1922)
President	Dennis Rittle
Location	Arkansas City , Kansas , US
Colors	Black and Orange
Website	www.cowley.edu

Cowley College is a two-year college located in Arkansas City, Kansas, United States. It also operates locations in nearby Winfield, Mulvane, and downtown Wichita. In addition to a robust online presence the college offers on-site courses at nine area high schools. Cowley College is accredited by the NCA's Higher Learning Commission.

History

Cowley College held its first classes on Sept. 11, 1922. At this point, it was known as the Arkansas City Junior College (ACJC), and, like most junior colleges of the time, operated under the directorship of the local school district. Classes were held on the top floor of the Arkansas City High School, but were soon relocated to the basement, earning it the nickname "Basement University." In 1936, a combination auditorium-gymnasium was constructed, and in 1952, ACJC held its first classes in a dedicated college building.

During the mid-1960s, ACJC began a process of name changes in an attempt to keep current with state legislation designed to spur growth of junior colleges and vocational schools in Kansas. After no less than two revisions, in 1965, it was given the name Cowley County Community College and Vocational-Technical School, which was commonly abbreviated CCCC.

In 1967, the citizens of Cowley County elected a six-member Board of Trustees for CCCC, and on July 1, it assumed control of college operations. The new Board appointed Dr. Paul Johnson as the first president of the college. Johnson had been the dean of the college under the school board's direction. The county continues to elect members to the Board of Trustees in four-year terms.

In March 1968, Johnson died. He was succeeded on an interim basis by William S. Scott until the end of June. On July 1, 1968, Dr. Gwendel A. "Gwen" Nelson was appointed president of the college by the Board of Trustees. Immediately, Nelson began a far-reaching program of expansion and upgrades. When he arrived at the college, it owned no property (the land on which the buildings stood was rented from the school district), and its program offerings were limited. During his tenure, which lasted until 1987, Nelson would be instrumental in land negotiations with the school board, resulting in the college's ownership of all of its main campus and the adjacent old high school. His leadership resulted in great expansion of academic programs, including upgrading the vocational school into a state-of-the-art facility, and he would oversee the construction of six new buildings, including the college's first dormitories.

Campus

The college's main campus is in Arkansas City, Kansas. It also operates locations in nearby Winfield, Mulvane, and downtown Wichita. In addition to a robust online presence the college offers on-site courses at nine area high schools. Cowley College's Ireland Hall was constructed in 1890 as the Arkansas City High School. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the oldest standing buildings in Arkansas City.

Administration

On July 1, 2015 Dr. Dennis Rittle became the 5th president of Cowley College.

Academic profile

Cowley College offers over 70 academic programs, which culminate with one of five certificates: Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science, Associate of General Studies, and Vocational Certificate. Programs range from Liberal Arts to Business Technology to Vocational Training. The average class size for the 2014-2015 school year was 15. For the 2014-2015 academic year the unduplicated headcount was 4,997 students.

Cowley College's area vocational technical school was the first vocational school in Kansas to operate in association with a junior college.

Student life

Each year in October, a female Cowley sophomore is elected by the student body to be crowned as Queen Alalah. This is in conjunction with Arkansas City's fall festival, called Arkalalah.

Athletics

Main article: Cowley County Tigers

Cowley College's Mascot is the Tiger. The college is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association, and is home to a variety of athletic programs. Men's sports include: baseball, basketball, cross country, track & field, golf, tennis, and spirit squad. Women's sports include: softball, basketball, cross country, track & field, volleyball, tennis, spirit squad, and dance line. The men's football program was discontinued in 1983. Men's and women's soccer programs began in the fall of 2008. The Cowley Tigers baseball team won two consecutive NJCAA World Series Championships in 1997 and 1998. The men's and women's cross country teams captured NJCAA DI National Championships in 2010. The Cowley College volleyball team won the NJCAA DII National Championship in 2011 and 2013.

Cowley is one of only a few Junior Colleges in the country with its own Nationwide High-Definition Sports Television Network. The Cowley Sports Network, launched on August 30th 2011 in a partnership with local production company Legleiter Video Productions and NJCAATV provides live coverage of home baseball games, home and away men's and women's basketball games, home softball games and home volleyball matches nationally online and on local television in the Arkansas City area. On air personalities include play-by-play analyst Scott Gurnee and color analyst Kurt Legleiter. Production and transmission facilities are housed within the studios of Legleiter Video Productions in downtown Arkansas City, the network produces its live events out of Leg Video "HD1" a remote production facility built specifically for CSN. The network reaches over 100,000 viewers annually online and on TV.

Notable alumni

For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Cowley County Community College alumni.

• Travis Hafner, former Major League Baseball designated hitter, played for the Tigers during the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
• Trevor Rosenthal, Major League Baseball closer, played for the Tigers during the 2009 season.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cowley County, Kansas

External links

• Official website