Coordinates:
38°13'11?N 85°42'11?W? / ?38.21980°N
85.70300°W? / 38.21980;
-85.70300
Hocking College, a technical college
located in Nelsonville, Ohio, in the Appalachian region of the United States offers a wide selection of
curriculum, with 56 associate degree programs, as well as several
certification programs.
History
Hocking College came into existence as the Tri-County Institute.
In the 1960s, the need for a vocational school became apparent in
Southeast Ohio through demographic studies and population
surveys.[1]
The Tri-County Institute was built on the campus of the Tri-County
Joint Vocational School with the schools sharing laboratory and
service areas. Fall 1968 marked the opening of the Institute with
approximately 250 students and 28 instructors.[2]
In 1969, the Ohio Board of Regents granted a charter to the
institute, and they were authorized to grant degrees in 13
technical programs. The first commencement took place June 1970
with 117 graduates.[3]
In 1972, the official name was changed to Hocking Technical
College and 250 acres were purchased for new building and future
development. In 1975, the college relocated its main campus to its
current site on Hocking Parkway. The same year, residence halls
opened on Hocking’s campus, making it the only two-year
school in Ohio to have college-owned residence halls available to
its students. Hocking College was first accredited by the North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Higher Learning
Commission(HLC) in 1976.[4]
During the 80s, Hocking College continued to grow and expand,
establishing many sister-colleges worldwide, in places such as
Taiwan, Japan and Jamaica. In 1990, the Perry Campus in New
Lexington opened to better serve the needs of Perry County
residents with 61 students.[5]
The name changed again to Hocking College in 1991. In 1997, the
college purchased Lake Snowden in Albany, Ohio and in 1998 renamed
it as the Lake Snowden Education and Recreation Park.
Recent
history
Two new residence halls were built in 2009 and the Hocking
College Energy Institute opened in Hocking County near
Logan.[6]
The institute features green building design and hands-on learning
labs for students studying in an advanced energy program.[7]
Also in 2009, Hocking College President Dr. John Light retired
after 42 years of service to Hocking College.[8]
He was replaced by Dr. Ron Erickson of Minnesota.[9]
In August 2008, the Ohio State Auditors website announced an audit
of Hocking College to explore “various allegations regarding
certain financial activities and financial transactions at the
college.” Light and his wife, who served as his senior-vice
president, and two other employees were found to have taken money
illegally from the college. Light and his wife were charged with
crimes related to these allegations in June 2011[10]
and they pled no contest to the charges and were fined and ordered
to pay restitution.[11]
Erickson himself was removed from office in June 2011 after
"blindsiding trustees by sending out a campus wide e-mail that said
he'd been micromanaged"[12]
but was reinstated three months later.[13]
The college also had issues in January 2010 when a note was
found on a bathroom wall that threatened the African-American
students on campus. Although two students withdrew from the
college,[14]
Hocking took a number of actions to protect the safety of its
students. The college increased security measures, including more
security cameras in the residence halls, provided alternative
living quarters for those feeling threatened[15]
and offered a $5,000 reward for anyone who had information, and an
additional $2,000 if they were willing to testify.[16]
In addition, Hocking President Dr. Erickson held a number of events
to promote peace and healing around the campus, “We regret
this kind of behavior,” he said “and as the parent of a
multi racial family, it is especially important that everyone
understand this kind of behavior will not be tolerated on the
Hocking College Campus.”[15]
Academics
Hocking College lists 66 individual program options, organized
into ten program areas:[17]
- Arts & Sciences
- Business
- Computer & Information Technologies
- Energy Institute
- Engineering & Technology
- Health & Nursing
- Hospitality
- Natural Resources
- Public Safety Services
- Short-Term Certificates (which includes subjects belonging to
the other categories)
Land
holdings
In addition to their main campus, Hocking College owns and
operates Lake Snowden, a 670 acres
(2.7 km2) recreation area in Lee Township. They
also own 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) of open-space land
in the rugged landscape of York Township, west
of the campus.