 |
History
of Midlands Technical College |
Columbia Technical
Education Center
The South Carolina Area
Trade School in West Columbia was established in 1947 as part of the State
Board of Education in response to the need for vocational/trades training
programs created by post-World War II business expansion. The State Advisory
Committee for Technical Education was granted control of the Area Trade School
in 1969. In 1970 the South Carolina Area Trade School was designated as a
Regional Technical Education Center, providing residential facilities and
offering trade courses at the secondary and post-secondary level. The Columbia
Regional Technical Center, the Beaufort Technical Center and the Denmark Technical
Center were designated as Technical Education Centers in 1972 under the jurisdiction
of the newly created State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education.
Palmer College
Palmer
College was issued a charter as a private non-profit educational institution
in 1954. The institution began operating in Charleston in 1957. In 1960, the
Association of Independent Schools and Colleges accredited the Columbia Campus
as a Junior College of Business. By 1966, Palmer College had expanded its
program offerings to become a comprehensive two-year college. In 1971 the
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
accredited Palmer College as a general-purpose junior college.
Midlands Technical
Education Center
The
original name of the institution was Richland Tec when it opened in 1963 as
a part of the State Technical Education System. The Commission on Colleges
of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredited Richland Tec
in 1968 and reaffirmed the institution in 1972. The Engineers’ Council for
Professional Development accredited the Architectural, Civil, Mechanical,
Industrial, and Electrical/Electronics curricula in 1969. The name
was changed to Midlands Technical Education Center in 1970.
The Merger of Palmer College at Columbia, Midlands Tec
and Columbia Tec
In July 1972 the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive
Education and the Board of trustees of Palmer College completed a Merger Agreement,
which merged Palmer College with the State Tec system. In August 1972 the
Palmer College Board of Trustees and the State Board acknowledged approval
of the merger by the State Budget and Control Board. Under the Merger Agreement,
a feasibility study was conducted during the 1972-73 academic year. The primary
recommendation of the Feasibility Study was to establish comprehensive two-year
colleges in Columbia and Charleston. On March 21, 1973, after unanimous approval
by the Richland County Legislative Delegation, the Lexington County Legislative
Delegation, and the Richland-Lexington Counties Commission for Technical Education,
the State Board unanimously approved the merger of the three institutions
into a single institution, multi-campus concept with one campus to be located
at the site of Columbia Tec (now the Airport Campus) and the other campus
to be at the site of Midlands Tec (now the Beltline Campus).