About Mat-Su College
Watch for these MSC 50th Anniversary Events...
January 26 - Winter Festival - official kick-off
Spring & Fall - "Master's of Mat-Su College event series
August - BBQ planned for past and present MSC faculty, staff, and students.
October - fund raising dinner to endow new scholarship and time capsule ceremony
Partial Chronology of MSC...
| 1957-58: | Palmer Community College begins offering evening classes on January 21 at Palmer High School. Leslie Klebesadel, Director. |
| 1958-59: | William Tull, Director |
| 1959-60: | Paul Martin, Director |
| 1961: | Alvin Okeson becomes Director of Palmer Community College (part-time). Enrollment included 24 part-time students. |
| 1964: | College name changes to Matanuska-Susitna Community College (MSCC). |
| 1970: | Alvin Okeson becomes full time director of MSCC. Discussion begins to build a college on its own site. Debate takes place whether to locate in downtown Palmer or between Palmer and Wasilla. |
| 1971: | Mat-Su Borough donates 100 acres of land for college site on Trunk Road located near the UAF Experimental Farm to be used for community college purposes. $500,000 in general obligation funds appropriated for a permanent facility. |
| 1972: | Phase I construction completed. The 8,065 sq. ft. building includes 4 classrooms, a library and an office. First classes held on site in November. |
| 1973: | Mat-Su Borough donates 180 acres of land adjacent to the first parcel donated in 1971. Dedication of the Jalmar Kerttula Building (JKB) and first graduation ceremony held on campus in May 1973. |
| 1974: | Phase II construction of JKB completed. The 5,965 sq. ft. includes Admission & Records, bookstore and classrooms. |
| 1975: | Mat-Su Borough donates an additional 100 acres of land to the college. |
| 1976: | Phase III construction of JKB completed. The 6,325 sq. ft. construction includes a biology lab, Office Management Technology lab, and Electronic Technology classroom and lab. Refrigeration & Heating lab moved into the garage area. |
| 1977: | Community Colleges Rural Education and Extension (CCREE) established by the Board of Regents; includes 10 community colleges, 12 rural education centers, the Fishery Industrial Technology Center, Cooperative Extension Service, and the Univ. of Alaska Instructional Telecommunications consortium (UAITC). Titles for all community college Directors changed to President. |
| 1980: | Glenn Massay hired as Academic Dean. MSCC received accreditation as a stand alone college from the Commission on Colleges and Universities of the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. Phase IV construction of JKB completed. This 9,070 sq. ft. area includes a ceramics lab, office space for the Business Office and Administration. Electronic Technology classroom/lab moved into JKB 109. |
| 1981: | First classes held in Phase IV in Spring 1981 semester. |
| 1982: | Phase V construction completed for the 18,060 sq. ft. library building (Okeson Library Building/OLB). Originally designed to be a stand-alone building, the atrium was added as an afterthought connecting to JKB. Driver's Education classes offered with simulators until the late 1980s. |
| 1983: | Long range facilities plan developed. Decision was made to build the next building (Phase VI - Agriculture) separate from existing buildings. |
| 1984/85: | Ceramics Lab shut down due to OSHA requirements. Lab converted to computer lab. Ceramics classes to be offered through Anchorage Community College and MSCC to focus on fiber arts. |
| 1986: | Phase VI construction completed. This 18,365 sq. ft. building (Snodgrass Hall/SNOD) is designed for an Agricultural Program being developed. It includes a small engine lab, woodshop, chemistry lab, greenhouse, and general classroom. Office Management Technology lab moved to Snodgrass. Fred & Sara Machetanz donate 230 acres with the stipulation that no development occur for the next 50 years and that the Borough donate land to connect the Machetanz parcel to the college land. Mat-Su Borough donates 440 acres. The University of Alaska creates comprehensive regional university to include former community colleges. MSCC becomes an extended college of the University of Alaska Anchorage. |
| 1987: | Alvin Okeson retires. |
| 1988: | Name changes to Matanuska-Susitna College (MSC). Glenn Massay becomes College Director (community college Presidents' titles changed to Director). Due to budget cuts, Registrar and Academic Dean's positions are eliminated and Academic Dean duties were added to Director's responsibilities. CCREE was abolished. |
| 1991: | Senator Kerttula initiates a move to fund construction of a new classroom building during economic downturn. |
| 1992: | Ground breaking takes place for new building. |
| 1993: | University conducts a major review of all academic programs. Decision is made to eliminate the Associate of Applied Science in Agriculture degree at MSC and to eliminate one faculty position in the Electronics Technology program. |
| 1994: | Phase VII construction completed. This 30,076 sq. ft. building includes art labs, Student Services, computer classrooms, general classrooms, and a day care facility. $1 million was appropriated by the legislature for construction of a bridge to connect the new building with Snodgrass Hall. The Governor cut the amount to $500,000 and only the steel framework was completed. The new building sat empty for a year due to lack of funding for operations. Glenn Massay retires in September. |
| 1995: | Joseph Emmons becomes College Director. The first classes are held in Phase VII. Admissions & Records, Student Services, and the OMT lab are moved into the new building. Day care facility is officially named Molly's Playhouse; for Molly Mishler, the deceased daughter of Professor Barbara Mishler. Prof. Mishler was a strong supporter of MSC student government and advocate for an on-campus day care center. Students were successful in lobbying efforts before the UA Board of Regents to include the center. |
| 1996: | Molly's Playhouse begins operation under contract with a local vendor. First formal installation ceremony in UAA is held for College Director Emmons along with building dedication. Newest building is officially named the Fred and Sara Machetanz Building (FSM). |
| 1999: | The U.S. Department of Education announced that MSC had been awarded a five-year Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant. Glenn Massay, former MSC Director, is named the Project Director. |
| 2001: | $800,000 funding is obtained to partially complete the bridge from FSM to SNOD. Bridge opens for use. Additional funding is acquired to partially enclose the bridge and is completed in time for the start of the spring 2001 semester. |
| 2002: | Replacement of the warehouse adds 5,000 sq. ft. and the Physical Plant department is moved into the new Ortner Warehouse. Remodeling in JKB adds additional faculty and office space. Paul Dauphinais becomes College Director. |
| 2003: | Blended courses appear. Part online, part face to face traditional lecture. These new courses are designed with help from the Title III Grant. Strategic planning sessions with community leaders and college personnel produce a strategic planning document. |
| 2004: | As the Title III Grant winds down, it was time to say good-bye to Glenn Massay...again! |
| 2006: | Dennis Clark becomes College Director in February. |
| 2008: | Mat-Su College makes plans to celebrate 50 years of excellence in education. |