History of the College
When Tompkins Cortland Community College first opened its doors in September of 1968, 180 students were registered to attend. Classes were held in Groton in the former high school building. The library’s shelves were freshly stocked with 5,000 volumes, and the College catalog listed 34 courses in business and the liberal arts. Faculty members, drawn together from diverse areas of higher education, were bursting with innovative ideas. Since that first day of classes, Tompkins Cortland Community College has been a place of excitement and promise, committed to serving the growing and changing educational needs of its students and sponsoring communities.
Quickly outgrowing the space in Groton, the College opened a new campus in Dryden in September 1974, welcoming more than 2,000 students. In 1978, the Tompkins Cortland Community College Foundation was incorporated to support the ongoing work of the College and to accept private donations to support the institution’s mission. Over the next decade, the College grew to serve nearly 5,300 students, and the Foundation has played a significant role in the growth by creating opportunities and increasing accessibility.
Through the 1990s and 2000s, TC3's reach expanded beyond the walls in Dryden. TC3 was honored as a Learning College Champion by the League for Innovation, supported by the Foundation opening extension centers in the cities of Ithaca and Cortland, the establishment of a Global Initiatives program that saw the College partner with institutions around the world, becoming one of the first community colleges in the state to offer on-campus housing, and by serving as a SUNY leader in embracing distance learning through online courses and degrees.
The College entered the 21st century with rapid enrollment growth, the development of a complete residential life program, and the expansion of academic offerings. The campus master plan brought the first major construction to campus in more than 30 years, producing a new learning commons, student center, and the College’s first dedicated athletics facility.
The forward-thinking that has become the trademark of the College continued into the new century with the establishment of the Farm-to-Bistro program that includes a working farm on campus and professional restaurant in Ithaca, both providing exceptional practical learning opportunities for students in several academic programs. The expansion of the College's distinguished nursing program and the opening of a new, expanded childcare center both addressed needs in the community as well as the needs of its students. In recent years, the ability to quickly respond to the region's changing economic climate has led to the creation of employment-focused microcredentials that are already having a positive impact on the local workforce.
TC3 has long been dedicated to sustainability, dating back to signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2008. Through the years this commitment has shown itself with education modules, the installation of solar panels on campus, and resource-saving practices. Currently, the College is actively aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an international call to end poverty, protect natural resources, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
More than 50 years later, TC3 has continued to advance its founding promise. The commitment to students and community has produced more than 23,000 alumni through the years, with many entering the local workforce. For others, TC3 provided avenues to continue their education at transfer institutions before making their mark on their community. The lasting impact of TC3 alumni, for several generations so far and many more to come, is the enduring indicator of the College's true value to this community and beyond.