BridgeValley Community and Technical College

The Montgomery campus serves the upper Kanawha Valley region of West Virginia. It was established in 1966 as the Community College at West Virginia Institute of Technology. In 1996, West Virginia Institute of Technology became a regional campus of West Virginia University and was renamed West Virginia University Institute of Technology. At this time, the community college became known as Community College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology. As a result of the 2008 reorganization of the higher education system of West Virginia, the state's community colleges were "divorced" from the general colleges and universities and had to adopt new names unrelated to their parent institutions. Community College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology became Bridgemont Community and Technical College as a nod to the many bridges and mountains in the area.[2]

The South Charleston campus, formerly Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College (KVCTC), was established in 1953 as a community college component of what was then West Virginia State College (now University). In 2003, it was accredited as West Virginia State Community and Technical College, but remained administratively linked to WVSU. In 2008, the legislature fully separated the Community and Technical College from its parent 4-year institution, however, both schools continued to share the same campus. Due to the extremely crowded conditions endured by both KVCTC and WVSU and for the schools to facilitate their missions, ongoing efforts were made to establish a separate campus. In the fall of 2012, KVCTC moved to its new campus in South Charleston at the former Dow research facility.

In 2009, the school went through a name change to distinguish itself from West Virginia State University. The school's new name was officially announced on April 20, 2009 as Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College.[3] KVCTC held its first commencement ceremony on May 16, 2009. Previously, Kanawha Valley held its commencement in a joint ceremony with West Virginia State.[4] In May 2012, KVCTC received national recognition by earning the MAP-Works Overall Excellence Award for implementing a program aimed at student success.[5]

In early 2013, a bill was in process to merge Bridgemont Community and Technical College with Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College. The schools combined their administrations, but maintain both campuses and all course offerings. According to former KVCTC President Joseph Badgley, "This is a model that should have been a place a long time ago, ... This is a good time to do it to since I’m retiring and it will make the transition much easier." Then-Bridgemont President Beverly Jo Harris said "We have worked hand in hand [with KVCTC] over the past several years trying not to duplicate programs, ... Now under one administrative structure, we’ll have a very broad range of healthcare and technology programming."[6] Over the 2013-14 academic year, the schools operated independently. In the fall of 2014, the combined schools became officially known as BridgeValley Community and Technical College.[7] Harris was named president of the new multi-campus college.[8]