Wallace Community College

Wallace Community College (WCC) (formally known as George C. Wallace State Community College) is a community college in Dothan, Alabama. The college enrolls 3,958 students and has been accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1969.[2] As of 2017, the college has three campuses: the Wallace Campus and the Center for Economic and Workforce Development in Dothan, and the Sparks Campus in Eufaula.

This article is about the community college in Dothan, Alabama. For other Alabama colleges with similar names, see Wallace Community College (disambiguation).
George C. Wallace State Community College
Wallace Community College
WCC logo
Former names
George C. Wallace State Technical Trade School; George C. Wallace State Vocational Trade School; George C. Wallace State Technical Junior College; Alabama Aviation and Technical College; Sparks State Technical School; Sparks State Technical College
TypeCommunity college
Established1947
Officer in charge
Linda C. Young
Students3,958[1]
Location
Dothan
,
Alabama

31.31745°N 85.46460°W / 31.31745; -85.46460
AthleticsBaseball (men), Softball (women)
MascotThe Governors
Websitehttp://www.wallace.edu

Established in 1949, George C. Wallace Community College, with campuses in Dothan and Eufaula, is one of the largest and oldest community colleges in Alabama.

In 1947, George C. Wallace, then a freshman member of the Alabama House of Representatives, introduced legislation that was signed into law as the Alabama Regional Trade School Act of 1947. One of the first trade schools was established in Dothan, Houston County. Wallace requested that the school be named George C. Wallace State Technical Trade School, in honor of his father, George Corley Wallace Sr., whom Wallace admired for keeping his family together during the Great Depression and for insisting that his children continue their education. Governor Jim Folsom agreed and named the institution in honor of the elder Wallace.

The first 29 acres of the campus were acquired from Napier Air Field through the War Assets Administration in January 1949, and 13 students enrolled in the school’s sheet metal program. In 1952, the school introduced a practical nursing program and has since produced more than 3,200 practical nurses. In 1955, the name of the institution was changed to George C. Wallace State Vocational Trade School. On May 3, 1963, the Alabama State Legislature authorized the creation of a junior college on the technical school site, and the institution became George C. Wallace State Technical Junior College, with Phillip J. Hamm as the first president. In response to a recommendation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the technical school and junior college were officially merged in 1969 to form southern Alabama’s first comprehensive community college. That year, the college also introduced its associate degree nursing program, which remains one of Wallace’s most popular programs. The name of the college was ultimately changed to George C. Wallace State Community College. “State” was later dropped from the name; hence, the current name: George C. Wallace Community College.

Wallace expanded in October 1999 when the State Board of Education merged Wallace Community College and Chauncey Sparks State Technical College in Eufaula, Barbour County. Sparks, named for the former Alabama governor, had opened with nine programs of study on July 6, 1966; it is now known as the Wallace Community College Sparks Campus. Alabama Aviation and Technical College in Ozark, Dale County, briefly became part of Wallace Community College in 1997 in another merger, but it shifted to Enterprise State Junior College in 2003 to create Enterprise-Ozark Community College.

Wallace offers various educational opportunities and works closely with local business and industry partners to provide hands-on training for its students. Wallace is also known for its Governors baseball and Lady Governors softball teams.

Wallace is part of the Alabama Community College System.

Athletics

WCC maintains a men's junior college baseball team affiliated with the Southern Conference and women's softball team. Even though known as a men's junior college baseball school, back in 2001, the Wallace Community College Men's Basketball team won the AJCCC State Championship under coach Eddie Barnes and Assistant Coaches Philip M. Cassis and Tom Helmeyer. The team also made it to the NJCAA final four and finished third in the Nation. The baseball team is currently coached by former Major League Baseball catcher Mackey Sasser.

References
  1. "George C. Wallace Community College at Dothan". College Board. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  2. "Institution Details". Commission on Colleges. 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
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