Evening School Opens in 1947
The Evening School was the impetus to start a dedicated vocational school. It opened Monday, Oct 6 with a few classes which include Food Study, Clothing Construction, Spanish, Beginning Bookkeeping, Gregg shorthand, Intermediate and Advanced Swimming for Women, Blueprint Reading and Drafting, Cabinet Making, Sheet Metal, Retail Selling, and Welding.
Vocational Classes in 1948
St. Cloud Area Vocational Technical School was founded in the fall of 1948 at St. Cloud Tech High School. About 100 students were enrolled in agriculture, business and distributive education, home economics, machine shop and auto mechanics. Classes were offered in the existing high school shops and classrooms until 1955.
First Director of Vocational Education in St. Cloud
Robert Miller was the first director of vocational education in St. Cloud. The evening program was developed to provide skilled workers for local industries. Day programs for 11th and 12th grade students were expanded to include post-secondary students.
New Vocational School to Carry Gough's Name - 1953
The new structure connected with Tech High at the north and contained shops of many descriptions and uses. It was the core of the area vocational school which drew students from all over Central Minnesota.
"Burglars scheduled their own post-evening school welding class Wednesday night at Technical High School - rating 'A's' for the completed torch-burning job on the business office vault. Their "lesson" netted them about $500 in cash, according to St. Cloud police officers, who investigated the crime early today, after receiving a call from the school janitor who found several empty cash boxes in the second floor hallway."
New Location
By 1964, the vocational school was serving 100 students, although twice as many were applying.
The College was growing and needed more space. A community survey showed a need for more technical workers, and a bond issue for $736,000 for a new building was put to St. Cloud voters.
The 21.72-acre site on Northway Drive was purchased from the City of St. Cloud for $21,720. The parking lot was designed for 331 cars.
More than 200,000 square feet of building was constructed. Thirty-three programs were developed, and more than 150 faculty were selected to provide training to over 1,400 day and 3,000 evening students.
The campus opened in 1966 at the College’s present location.
Then & Now
The 21.72-acre site was purchased from the City of St. Cloud for $21,720. The location opened in 1966 and served more than 600 students.
Name Change
The school's name was changed in 1967 to St. Cloud Area Vocational Technical School.
Running Double Shifts
By 1968, double shifts had to be run to accommodate the 600 students and the first computer programming course began.
Building for the Future
The State Department of Education approved a four-phase building program funded by local, state, and federal funds. The facilities were to be expanded to 200,000 square feet to accommodate up to 2,000 students and 40 subject areas. Voters passed a $1.9 million bond issues for the local share of the $4 million addition.
