Introduction In 2006, North Hennepin Community College celebrated its fortieth anniversary with a year-long celebration. At the suggestion of then Vice President of Academic Affairs, Anita Olson, the History Department offered a special topics course entitled “History of NHCC.” Eight students enrolled and spent the Spring Semester of 2007 researching aspects of the history of the college that they found interesting, using records they discovered in the college archives. At the end of the semester, the students produced research papers and a museum display, “Forging the Future: Experiencing Forty Years of North Hennepin Community College,” that was hosted by the Hennepin History Museum during the summer of 2007.
Since that first class, students enrolled in the History Capstone Course have continued to research the history of North Hennepin using the same methods as those initial eight students. The timeline below represents the efforts of twenty-two different students and indicates the dates that these students found significant in their research.
Timeline of the History of North Hennepin as Seen by NHCC Students July 1, 1963: Creation of the Minnesota State Junior College Board
September 19, 1966: North Hennepin State Junior College opens in Osseo Junior High School under the leadership of Dale Lorenz: 414 students registered for classes. Tuition was $5 per credit for Minnesota residents. North Hennepin Music department includes choir, orchestra, and pop band. Foundation of the North Hennepin Theater Department. Foundation of the North Hennepin History department by Jon Willand. Foundation of North Hennepin Spanish Department by Barbara Mantini. Foundation of the Student Senate.
1966: Intercollegiate sports begin at North Hennepin with basketball (team finishes 6–13 for first season). The college names its sports teams “The Norsemen.” North Hennepin has three intramural sports teams: touch football, basketball, and softball. Foundation of the “Women’s Continued Studies” Program aimed at women over 21.
September 1966: North Hennepin serves as a testing center for the American College Testing Program (ACT).
November 1966: Minnesota State Junior College Board submits $7.5 million long-range building plan to construct a campus for North Hennepin.
December 1966: Brooklyn Park Post runs a story about Mrs. Doris Williams, mother of four, who made the Dean’s List at North Hennepin.
February 1967: State architect and MN Highway Department select future site of North Hennepin at 85th and Broadway in Brooklyn Park.
April 1967: North Hennepin receives provisional accreditation from the University of Minnesota.
May 1967: Osseo business owners lobby to move future site of North Hennepin to CR 30 and Highway 52; Curt Carlson offers land by Eagle Lake in Maple Grove for the future site of North Hennepin. May 16, 1967: North Hennepin Advisory Committee recommends hiring George A. Hodson Jr. as President of North Hennepin.
1967: Minnesota State Junior College Board appoints Dr. John F. Helling as the first President of North Hennepin State Junior College.
June 1967: State Junior College Board approves Osseo site for future home of North Hennepin.
1967: Dale Lorenz, first Dean of North Hennepin, leaves to become President of Normandale State Junior College
July 13, 1967: Final decision establishes Brooklyn Park as the home of North Hennepin State Junior College.
1967: Distributed Education Club of America (DECA) founded at North Hennepin; First non-resident alien student, Milo Handel of Rhodesia, attends North Hennepin. North Hennepin athletics adds four intramural teams (soccer, track, chess, and whist), two intercollegiate teams (baseball and wrestling), and a squad of cheerleaders.
September 1967: Robbinsdale School District 281 donates $22,500 for the construction of North Hennepin. In need of extra space for students, North Hennepin rents the “Fellowship and Fireside” rooms from the Church of Nazarene in Osseo. Spanish Department expands its curriculum to include Intermediate Spanish, Spanish Composition, and Spanish Conversation. German Department is created, offers Beginning German and Intermediate German.
October 1967: North Hennepin Student poll favors US invasion of North Vietnam; sufficient funds raised to purchase the Brooklyn Park site for the campus.
December 1967: North Hennepin receives full accreditation.
March 1967: North Hennepin rents a residential building, quickly dubbed “Das Maus Haus,” to serve as faculty office space.
February 1968: North Hennepin credits are approved for transfer.
June 1968: First Graduate Ceremony of North Hennepin State Junior College: 69 students received Associates Degrees.
August 1968: President Helling advocates for North Hennepin as a “community college.”
1968: Jerry Sandvick hired in the North Hennepin History Department; Audio Visual Department created and Yogi Pusch is hired as its first Director. North Hennepin Athletics adds an intercollegiate football team, three intramural sports (volleyball, table tennis, and tennis), and three athletic clubs (dance line, gymnastics, and fencing).
1968: Foundation of the Women’s Continuing Education Program and the German Club.
September 19, 1968: Ground-breaking ceremony for future site of North Hennepin. Bishop James P. Shannon presided.
October 13, 1969: North Hennepin classes start late due to a construction workers’ strike. October 1969: The Creative Writing Club is established. Their advisor is North Hennepin faculty Vicky Lettman.
December 1968: North Hennepin Students call to abolish the draft
Feb 2, 1970: Hubert Humphrey speaks at North Hennepin; Canadian band “The Guess Who” performs at the North Hennepin “Sno Daze” dance.
1970: The Creative Writing Club begins publishing Miracle on 85th Street, a quarterly literary magazine for North Hennepin students.
May 26, 1970: North Hennepin President John Helling responds to faculty request to cancel classes in honor of the students who died in the Kent State Shooting.
June 1970: North Hennepin becomes a GED testing center.
July 1970: George Rice, DFL candidate for Congress, speaks with students at North Hennepin.
1970: International Students Organization, Current Affairs Incorporated Now Organization, Youth Organization Steering Committee, Tau Alpha Phi (honor society), and the Concerned Students Organization (CSO) founded at North Hennepin. One of CSO’s goals is to create student evaluations of instructors.
1970: Fifteen uninvited senior citizens from the United Seniors of Minneapolis crash a meeting held at North Hennepin to discuss housing and care of the elderly.
October 1970: Georgia legislator Julian Bond speaks at North Hennepin.
1971: Last publication of the North Hennepin yearbook, Runestone.
Summer 1971: North Hennepin offers free open gym time.
July 12, 1971: First Senior “Campus Invasion.”
1971: Minnesota Union of College Students (MUCS) founded at North Hennepin.
May 1972: Senator Walter Mondale visits North Hennepin.
July 17, 1972: North Hennepin featured in TIME Magazine for their “Seniors on Campus” program.
1972: North Hennepin State Junior College has seven official student groups: Student Senate, DECA, German Club, Concerned Students Organization, Veterans Club, International Students Organization, and Phi Theta Kappa.
1972: Sports programs at NHCC include football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, golf, and tennis. Annual budget for athletics is $93,300.
1972: Miracle on 85th Street renamed to Under Construction in honor of the perpetual state of construction on the campus. Michael Fedo becomes the faculty advisor of Under Construction.
1972: “Seniors on Campus” student Dan Sudquist successfully runs for Student Senate.
October 5, 1972: Second Senior “Campus Invasion” held. August 1, 1973: All Minnesota Junior Colleges become Community Colleges. North Hennepin is given special recognition for its role in initiating the change.
1973: The annual budget for athletics increases to $102,803. International student Gbolan Taiwo runs for the North Hennepin Advisory Board.
September 19, 1973: Third Senior “Campus Invasion” held.
1974: NHCC faculty Michael Fedo’s essay, “Jogging with Joyce” is published in The Chicago Sun Times. Minnesota Attorney General Warren Spannus speaks at North Hennepin.
1974: NHCC holds “Rap” sessions to bridge generation gap between Seniors and traditional-aged students.
1975: NHCC eliminates the Wrestling team. Female students constituted the majority of the student body. Student Publications Association (SPA) is formed to set general editorial policies for student publications.
1975: NHCC dedicates a day annually to increase cultural awareness.
1976: NHCC Theater Department adds “Theatrical Fencing” course.
1977: NHCC eliminates the Cross Country athletic team. Bruce Bauer, North Hennepin’s Director of Community Services, becomes President of Itasca Community College.
1978: NHCC Philosophy statement recognizes female students as distinct from male students (“himself/herself” used to reference students).
October 1979: German Club begins hosting an annual Oktoberfest at North Hennepin.
November 29, 1979: North Hennepin newspaper North Star interviews Iranian international student Felor Azodanaloo about the Iran Hostage Crisis.
1980: North Hennepin begins offering non-credit courses in English as a Second Language (ESL). Ralph Nader speaks at North Hennepin.
March 12, 1980: Tunde Lawal-Solarin, president of the International Student Organization, proposes a course in cross-cultural understanding.
1981: International Students Organization holds an “International Awareness Day.” Vicky Lettmen replaces Michael Fedo as faculty advisor for Under Construction. NHCC student newspaper North Star interviews Personnel Director Pete Fastner about issues relating to Affirmative Action.
1982: NHCC eliminates the Basketball athletic teams.
1983: NHCC Strategic Plan proposes a market study to learn more about the needs of the local community.
March 1983: Former Congresswoman Bella Abzu speaks at NHCC.
November 8, 1983: Tom Weaver, NHCC Registrar states that the typical NHCC student was between 20- 24, female, and taking 3-5 credits/quarter. January 31, 1984: Rape case on campus leads to campus dialogue about rape and changes in campus policy towards rape.
1984: NHCC Student Senate invites seven contenders for political office to appear in a series of talks. Candidates include Bruce Vento, Bill Frenzel, Gerry Sikorski, Martin Sabo, Joan Grove, Dave Peterson, and Mary Jean Rachner. NHCC Mission Statement opts for the gender neutral plural pronoun (“their”) to refer to students.
1985: Career and Continuing Education Building constructed.
October 1985: English faculty Alfred Calvin publishes Other Voices, a newsletter objecting to PELRA’s exclusive representation provision.
1986: NHCC College Enrichment Committee establishes the Shingle Creek Convocation Series (also known as the Artists’ Series)
1990: NHCC Mission Statement refers to students as “citizens.”
March 1990: English faculty survey foreign students to help develop a holistic approach to meet their academic needs.
April 4, 1990: English faculty, Catherine Carlson, argues for expansion of NHCC’s ESL program.
August 1, 1990: Dr. John Helling retires as President. He is succeed by Dr. Frederick Capshaw.
1993: Creation of “Academic Listening and Speaking for ESL Students” course approved by NHCC Curriculum Committee. Founding Spanish faculty, Barbara Mantini awarded College Educator of the Year for the state of Minnesota.
1994: Director of Technology, Najeem Saeed institutes the Student Technology Fee; Football, Baseball, Volleyball, Softball, Golf, and Tennis athletic programs eliminated. NHCC President Ann Wynia runs for US Senate.
November 1994: President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton visit NHCC and speak to both students and the general public.
1995: NHCC Theater Department removes “Theatrical Fencing” course
June 1995: Senator Paul Wellstone speaks at NHCC Graduation Ceremony.
April 1997: NHCC recognizes former Congressman Jim Ramstad for his commitment and support of TRIO programs.
1998: NHCC Music Department adds “History of Rock and Roll” course
2000: Students object to Jon Willand’s Custer poster. NHCC Mission statement returns to use of gender- neutral plural pronoun “their” to refer to students.
2001: Jon Willand sues NHCC over freedom of speech infringements. He experiences harassment while his case is on trial (someone super-glued his office door shut, and someone vandalized his Custer poster). July 2001: Dick Johnson, IT Director, implements the PBX telephone system, providing each staff member their own phone line and voicemail. The Telephony Department, manned by Cindy Flermoen, is created to manage the system.
2002: Deanna Forsman hired as an adjunct faculty in the NHCC History Department.
May 7, 2003: NHCC’s Lock-out Task Force (LoTF) recommends using assessment scores for course placement.
2003: Paul Jentz hired in the NHCC History Department.
October 9, 2003: Student Affairs Committee recommends ESL classes be graded as Pass/No-Credit.
December 8, 2003: NHCC Academic Affairs and Standards Council (AASC) proposes to remove all ESL courses from the Academic Development (ADEV) designator and to create a specific English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) designator.
December 29, 2003: NHCC President Ann Wynia approves the creation of the ESOL Department.
2005: Registration Department transitions student records to digital format using ImageNow system.
2006: North Hennepin celebrates its Fortieth Anniversary. German courses are dropped from the curriculum.
2006: NHCC History Department adds “History of the Medieval West” course.
2007: NHCC History Department pilots “Applied History” course. Arabic Language courses are offered at NHCC.
February 2008: Congressman Keith Ellison speaks at NHCC during Black history month.
2008: NHCC has sixteen official student groups including: Black Student Council Against Racism; Christian Student Organization; Game Club; Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Alliance Group; Hispanic Students Association; International Student Association; Kappa Beta Delta; Muslim Student Association; Phi Theta Kappa; Political Debate Club; Student Nurses’ Association; Student Senate Association; Student Volunteer Service Club; Students for Peace; Veterans Student Association.
2008: NHCC enrolls 83 international students.
2009: Senator Amy Klobuchar promotes President Obama’s community college initiative at NHCC.