{"id":238,"date":"2018-01-22T15:13:45","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T15:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-cos2master\/chapter\/welcome-to-mcc-and-your-college-success-course\/"},"modified":"2023-04-12T13:35:36","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T13:35:36","slug":"welcome-your-first-year-seminar","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-wcc-collegesuccess3\/chapter\/welcome-your-first-year-seminar\/","title":{"raw":"Welcome to Westchester Community College & Your First-Year Seminar","rendered":"Welcome to Westchester Community College & Your First-Year Seminar"},"content":{"raw":"

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Congratulations<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nYou made it! You\u2019ve already shown the perseverance and dedication necessary to get into college. Maybe your path here from\u00a0high school was short, or maybe you\u2019ve had many life experiences\u00a0since your time in high school. Either way, welcome to Westchester Community College. We\u2019re so glad you\u2019ve chosen WCC!\r\n

Westchester Community College's History<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nWestchester Community College began as New York Institute of Applied Art and Sciences in 1946, located in the Battle Hill School in White Plains. It was one of five coed technical institutes in New York supported by state. In 1953, the state decided to close the schools unless the five communities in which these institutes were housed would accept operating responsibilities and share the financial costs with the state. Many community organizations, voiced support and pledged scholarships, and deal was reached so the financial burden would be shared equally between the state, county, and the student body, with each contributing one-third towards the school\u2019s operating costs. The Institute became Westchester Community College on September 1, 1953.\r\n\r\nThe breadth of programs and degrees offered by Westchester Community College has expanded greatly since 1953. At that time the College awarded Associate of Applied Sciences degrees and the first courses available at WCC were in business administration, building construction, technologies (electrical, mechanical, industrial chemistry), food administration, and medical-dental office work. Additional instruction was provided in English, mathematics, and the social sciences. Initial extracurricular activities included music, golf, basketball, track, chess, radio, and photography.\r\n\r\nIn 1955 the College began looking for a permanent site, and identified the estate of the late John A. Hartford as the location to build Westchester Community College. Hartford had been the president of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. The 364-acre property in Valhalla, called Buena Vista Farm, was partially occupied by Yale University, which had contracted with the Hartford Foundation to use the land until 1972. However, in 1957, the county board purchased the Hartford site and Yale agreed to vacate the property in mid-1958. The Hartford Foundation agreed to sell the property, valued in 1958 between $3,000,000-4,000,000, for only $750,000. The low price was offered to help lower the cost of tuition for students.\r\n\r\nA master plan for Westchester Community College was developed in 1961, including 8 buildings that were to be finished by 1988: the Engineering Technologies building (1962), the Student Center (1963), the Physical Education building (1964), the Classroom building (1967), the Learning Resource Center (1969), the Science building (1978), the Academic Arts building (1981), and the Administration building (1988).\r\n\r\nIn 1971, Joseph N. Hankin succeeded Philip Martin as the college\u2019s president. Hankin had previously been the president of Hartford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. He served as president of WCC for more than 40 years, the longest serving community college president in the United States.\r\n\r\nThe Learning Resource Center was renamed the Harold L. Drimmer Library in 1994, after a longtime chairman of the WCC\u2019s board of trustees. The library was completely renovated and expanded in 2002 doubling the size of the building to over 100,000 square feet. The updated building contains not only library facilities, but also computer labs, a student lounge, and conference rooms. The most recent addition to the campus is the Gateway Center which houses the College\u2019s Business Programs, its Professional Development Center, and its multilingual programs.\r\n\r\nIn addition to the Valhalla campus, the WCC provides instruction at twelve other off-campus locations including extension centers in Peekskill, Ossining, White Plains, Mount Vernon and Yonkers. In addition, the College offers classes in Shrub Oak, New Rochelle, Mahopac and Port Chester. The Educational Opportunity Center is in Yonkers.\r\n\r\nThe Native Plant Center (NPC), a non-profit project of the Westchester Community College Foundation, is an affiliate of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. The NPC, with the goal to educate the community on the value of native plants, presents various educational programs including workshops and conferences, is responsible for two demonstration gardens on the main campus, offers trips to gardens and horticultural displays, and coordinates an annual plant sale.\r\n\r\nThe Virginia Marx Children\u2019s Center was established in 1986 to provide care for the preschool children of students and staff. \u00a0The center is a laboratory school for students in the Early Childhood curriculum, Human Services curriculum, and the Dietetic Technology curriculum at Westchester Community College, and it has recently received the highest rating from\u00a0QUALITYstarsNY, NY\u2019s Quality Rating and Improvement System with a 5 out of 5-star rating.\r\n

Values of Westchester Community College<\/h2>\r\n
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\r\n\r\nTo better ourselves and our relationships, we are committed to\r\n