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SCTCC History 1947 - 1969

  • Home
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  • SCTCC History
  • SCTCC's 75th Anniversary
    • SCTCC History
      • SCTCC History 1947 - 1969
      • SCTCC History 1970 - 1990
      • SCTCC History 1991 - 2008
      • SCTCC History 2009 - Present
      • SCTCC 2023

From Evening Classes to a Thriving Institution: A Look Back at the Early Years

aerial view of St Cloud Technical High School

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.

Technical High School and Athletic Field
Technical High and Athletic Field 1946
Robert Miller

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.

H.B. Gough Vocational School

New Vocational School to Carry Gough's Name - 1953

$550,000 to $600,000 building

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.

Final Welding 1968

1954 Welding "Lesson" Nets Safe Crackers $500

"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

New Location

Robert C. Miller Building

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.

Open House Invitation

Then & Now

21.7
acres in 1967
44.3
acres in 2023

331
parking spots in 1967
2,010
parking spots in 2023
Scan of receipt

Site Purchase Receipt

1967

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.

page from 1968 yearbook

Name Change

1967-1973

The school's name was changed in 1967 to St. Cloud Area Vocational Technical School.

1968 yearbook page

Running Double Shifts

1968

By 1968, double shifts had to be run to accommodate the 600 students and the first computer programming course began.

front of college in 1969

Building for the Future

AVTI's Expansion Project - 1969

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.

Exploring the Past

Snapshot of College Life: Programs, Activities, and Memorable Moments

Nursing students in 1968

Nursing Students

1968

Industrial drafting student in 1968

Industrial Drafting Student

1968

Carpentry students in 1968

Carpentry Class

1968

students in Machine Shop class 1969

Machine Shop Class

1969

Auto Body students in 1969

Auto Body Students

1969

Welding student in 1969

Welding Student

1969

Student Senate in 1969

Student Senate

1969

basketball in 1969

Basketball

1969

secretarial students in 1969

Secretarial Students

1969

Accounting students in 1969

Accounting Students

1969

emt student

EMT Student

circa 60s or 70s

Students walking up a staircase in main entrance

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