Skagit Valley College Timeline

20s

1920s

1. 1920 Union High School completed in Mount Vernon; built to accommodate 700 students (only 500 at first).
2. 1924 Superintendent C.A. Nelson begins a campaign to sell the community on the idea of a junior college.
3. 1926 Mount Vernon Junior College opens at Union High School. Joseph Reeves serves as first principal; 5 faculty (also HS staff) and 26 students. Sept 7, 1926 first day of school.
4. 1928 College accredited by the University of Washington. First 9 graduates: 4 men and 5 women.
5. 1929 Mount Vernon Chamber pledges $2,000/year to support the college. Charles Lewis named dean.

30s

1930s

1. 1933 Washington State Junior College Association established to advocate for junior colleges.

40s

1940s

1. 1940 Mount Vernon College moves from the high school to Roosevelt Elementary. Night school begins. College offers pilot training (first vocational program, 1940–1942).
2. 1941 State House Bill 102 formally recognizes junior colleges with standards and public funding up to $10,000/year.
3. 1941–45 WWII: Enrollments plunge; junior colleges assume more vocational responsibilities. Mount Vernon JC drops to 33 students in ’41–’44; by next spring, down to 5.
4. 1944 Charles Lewis on leave; Donald Ferris acts as Dean (1944–48).
5. 1945 Secretarial program introduced.
6. 1946 GI Bill boosts enrollment; the college acquires 3 surplus military barracks.
7. 1947 Pre-professional programs added (medicine, law, dentistry, education, engineering). Evening school offers non-academic classes (Dressmaking, Citizenship, Norwegian).
8. 1948 Name changes to Skagit Valley Junior College. First dormitory: converted farmhouse on Clear Lake Road housing 20 men. First AA degree offered (90 credits, C average). Leroy W. Good becomes Dean; staff grows to 15 full-time.

50s

1950s

1. 1950 New occupational disciplines: nursing and agriculture.
2. 1951 Korean War reduces enrollment to 57 full-time and 257 night-school students. Community approves a six-mill tax levy to keep the college open. Vocational nursing and agriculture programs added. Juan Center Extension opens in Oak Harbor (30 students across English, Psychology, Accounting).
3. 1952 Enrollment doubles to 131 (over 50% from MVHS class of 1952); 400+ enroll in night classes.
4. 1955 Juan Center students housed in Old Roosevelt School and surplus military buildings.
5. 1957 State BOE approves 5 buildings and parking for ~800 students (est. $1,160,000). Permanent 35-acre campus purchased. Name becomes Skagit Valley College.
6. 1958 100 graduates: 52 AA, 44 Practical Nursing, 4 Secretarial Science.
7. 1959 Sept 19: Campus opening; Angst and Lewis Halls dedicated.

60s

1960s

1. 1960 Legson Kayira completes a two-year, 2,500-mile trek across Africa to attend SVC.
2. 1962 SVC becomes a community college. Dean George Hodson becomes first president.
3. 1964 New library built (former library remodeled for Student Services).
4. 1965 First distribution requirement adopted (Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, English Composition, PE & Health). Hodson resigns; Academic Dean Norwood Cole named Acting President. Jim Ford first Dean of Instruction; Del Tillotson first Dean of Administrative Services.
5. 1966 40th Anniversary; inauguration of President Charles Ingman (2nd). Focus on upgrading curriculum. Speech: “Changing Values in American Society.”
6. 1967 Agreement with WWU: SVC’s AA degree accepted by Western.
7. 1968 Record enrollment: 1,154 day and 1,341 night students.
8. 1969 More prescriptive degree requirements (state gen-ed alignment with WWU). First TEXPQ Exposition. State legislature cuts budgets; SVC salaries among lowest in WA. SVC accredited.

70s

1970s

1. 1970 Whidbey Island Branch campus opens; 600 students register that fall. SVC offers vocational and basic-skills training at Swinomish, Lummi, and Tulalip reservations.
2. 1971 SVC adopts affirmative action policy for minorities and women. New bookstore opens. Whidbey at 922 students; 75% Navy personnel/dependents. Classes at Langley High School serve South Whidbey residents.
3. 1972 KSVR begins local broadcasting as a 10-watt station. MV students forgo commencement; graduation at Whidbey (MV commencement resumes in 1977).
4. 1973 U.S. Navy transfers property & former hospital building leading to the Whidbey Island Campus. Enrollment up 18%. Students buy property on Big Lake for classes and activities.
5. 1975 New distribution requirements: University Transfer AA or General Studies AA. Tuition rises from $7/credit to $8.30.
6. 1976 Norwood Cole retires; James Ford appointed president; Dick Nowadnick appointed Dean of Instruction. 50th Anniversary celebrated.
7. 1977 First Cinco de Mayo celebration.
8. 1978 SVC Foundation created.

80s

1980s

1. 1980 SVC Art Gallery (a Foundation project) opens, showcasing local artists.
2. 1981 Budget cuts eliminate cross-country, golf, track, baseball, and softball programs.
3. 1983 New 2-year program in Computer Science.
4. 1984 Anthony Wong (Wong Chau-Sang), Hong Kong actor, graduates. Little Theater in Hodson Hall renamed Phillip Tarro Theatre. First annual Artsphere festival launches.
5. 1986 60th Anniversary celebration with Gov. Booth Gardner as speaker.
6. 1987 KSVR begins weekly Spanish broadcast.
7. 1988 Dedication of James Ford Hall.
8. 1989 SVC Hall of Fame established.

90s

1990s

1. 1990 Campus View Village housing opens. Running Start brings qualified HS students; enrollment grows. Persian Gulf War demonstrations at Whidbey.
2. 1992 First Pow Wow (Oct 12–13) on the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival.
3. 1993 Hayes Hall opens at Whidbey Island Campus (named for dean Harlow Hayes).
4. 1995 Dr. Lydia Ledesma-Reese named president—the College’s first female and Latina president.
5. 1998 Memorial for English instructor Jill Fugate.

00s

2000s

1. 2001 75th Anniversary celebration. George Smith hired as Interim President.
2. 2003 Dr. Gary Tollefson named president. Oak Hall opens at Whidbey Island Campus (Student Services, faculty offices, classrooms, labs).
3. 2004 McIntyre Hall opens (700-seat hall; 300-seat conference center).
4. 2009 Laura Angst Hall opens, replacing original 1959 structure.

10s

2010s

1. 2010 Northwest Career & Technical Academy and Marine Technology Center open.
2. 2012 Dr. Thomas Keegan, SVC alum, becomes sixth president.
3. 2014 New Charles Lewis Hall opens with Student Services and classrooms.
4. 2016 Cardinal Craft Brewing Academy opens.
5. 2018 First bachelor’s program launches: Applied Bachelor in Management.
6. 2019 Core themes developed with focus on equity in access, achievement, and community.

20s

2020s

1. 2021 SVC receives $2.5M federal grant to provide college access to migrant and seasonal farmworker families.
2. 2022 Christopher Villa named 7th president. Partnership with Swinomish Indian Tribal Community launches a nationally accredited Dental Therapy Education program. Community pickleball pavilion opens (June 30). New childcare center opens.
3. 2023 First Summer Bridge Program; new B.S. in Computer Science launches; SVC Foundation receives multimillion-dollar endowment.
4. 2024 Grand opening of Fire Technology Building; launches Bachelor of Applied Science in Advanced Manufacturing and Design.
5. 2025 SVC becomes an HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institution).
6. 2026 SVC celebrates 100 years.