History
History of Cincinnati State
Cincinnati State can trace its origins to the Cincinnati Cooperative School of Technology (CCST), a two-year technical institute for high school graduates that was established by the Cincinnati Board of Education in 1966. The function of the school was to train technicians in a program combining college-level classroom instruction and cooperative work experience. This program operated in a portion of the facility at 3520 Central Parkway, which at the time was also the home to Courter Technical High School and former home to Central High School. In its first year, the college offered only four degree programs.
In 1969, the State of Ohio established Cincinnati Technical Institute to serve the post-secondary public technical education needs of the area. Clifford R. House is named first president of the college. The following year, the college entered into a contract with the Cincinnati Board of Education to purchase the Courter Technical High School property, where the College is located today. The name of the college was changed to Cincinnati Technical College (CTC) in 1972. Courter Tech continued to share the facility until the high school ended operations at the site in 1974.
In 1976, Frederick Schlimm succeeded Clifford House to become the second president of the institution, and over the next decade the college grew steadily. During Schlimm’s tenure (1976-89), enrollment increased from 2,000 to more than 4,000 students, and the number of programs expanded from 35 to 45.
Amid a period of economic decline, President Schlimm deemed 1983-84 “The Year of the Co-op,” signaling his support of expanding the cooperative education program at the College. Today, Cincinnati State has the largest co-op program among two-year colleges in the United States and one of the largest among any American institution of higher education, with strong connections to more than 800 employers.
Dr. James Long became the third President of the college in 1990, and enrollment exceeded 5,000 students for the first time that year. At his recommendation, the Cincinnati Technical College Board of Trustees on July 27, 1993, voted to convert CTC to a state community college. The name was officially changed to Cincinnati State Technical and Community College on September 1, 1994.
During the same month, the Health Professions Building (HPB) and Ludlow Parking Garage were opened, coinciding with the college’s 25th anniversary. In May 1995, the State of Ohio approved the purchase of Cincinnati West Airport in Harrison, Ohio, to serve the aviation program at the college. An academic facility opened in 1998 at the airport.
On March 6, 1998, Dr. Ron Wright was formally inaugurated as the fourth president of the college. During his tenure, the college continued to grow. In 2000, the college purchased the Workforce Development Center (WDC) in Evendale to serve as a site for corporate training programs including computer skills, hazardous materials and industrial maintenance training.
In September 2003, a second parking garage (Central Parkway Garage) was opened to serve the increasing student population, which hit the 8,000 mark earlier that year. The Advanced Technology & Learning Center (ATLC) opened in November 2004, coinciding with the College’s 35th anniversary. The building houses the Midwest Culinary Institute, multimedia production studios, information technologies labs, student activities areas and other functions, and contains more than 200,000 square feet.
In 2007, Dr. John Henderson was appointed Interim President. The next year, Cincinnati State introduced a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency major to address the needs of growing industries in Ohio and middle America. In April 2009, the College received a significant grant from the U.S. Department of Labor in order to expand the program. During various events in September 2009, the college celebrated its 40th anniversary as enrollment surpassed 10,000 students for the first time.
In August 2010, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Dr. O’dell M. Owens to succeed Dr. Henderson. Dr. Owens – who at the time of his appointment was the Hamilton County Coroner – began his duties at Cincinnati State on September 1. In an address to the Cincinnati State community, Dr. Owens – who has served on the board of trustees at the University of Cincinnati and long been involved in efforts to improve education from preschool up throughout Greater Cincinnati – announced plans to improve the visibility of Cincinnati State and put it on equal footing with the region’s four-year institutions in terms of its standing as a viable educational option for high school graduates.
In November 2010 Cincinnati State set another enrollment record, with 11,421 total students. In April, 2012 college officials signed an agreement with a private partner to rehabilitate an office building in downtown Middletown, Ohio, to serve as the base for a campus. The Middletown Campus opened Aug. 29, 2012. That date also marked the start of the College’s conversion to a semester-based academic calendar, ending its previous system of five academic terms per year.