Chesapeake College

Nestled between corn fields and Route 50 in the Eastern Shore's tiny town of Wye Mills on December 22, 1965, the State Board of Education in Maryland adopted the Resolution 1965-66 and created Maryland's first regional community college, Chesapeake College. [ 4 ] This college served four mid-shore counties of Caroline , Kent , Queen Anne's , and Talbot county . The college's mission was to help those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to earn a college degree. [ 4 ] On January 13, 1966, Chesapeake College had its first meeting of the board of trustees to elect officers and to discuss the name of the college. The Board voted William Sylvester for chair, Robert F. Irwin for vice chair of the board and chair of the college site committee, John T. Harrison for secretary, and A. Orrell Saulsbury Jr. for treasurer. After electing officers, the board of trustees voted to name the college "Chesapeake College" after considering "Eastern Shore Community College," "Mid-Shore Community College," and "Chesapeake Community College." On March 30, 1966, the Board of Trustees offered Dr. George Silver the presidency of Chesapeake College. Silver took the offer and told the Wilmington (DE) Morning News , "It'll be my job to take the dream of the four counties and put it into brick and mortar." [ 5 ] Finally, in January 1966 Chesapeake College's first four students, each from a different county, were officially admitted to the college. All were graduating high school seniors. On September 1, 1967, Chesapeake College opened its doors to a class of 258 evening students. These classes were operated out of Queen Anne's County High School after the high school students had finished their school day. September 10, 1967 marked the ground breaking ceremonies for the new campus. By May 11, 1969, Chesapeake College had its first graduating class. [ 5 ]

Chesapeake College's main campus sits on 170-acres. The main campus has 14 buildings. The Cambridge Campus is housed in one building in downtown Cambridge , Maryland . The main buildings on the main campus are named after the five upper Eastern Shore counties. Chesapeake College Campus Caroline College Center The Caroline College Center houses the Bookstore, the Skipjack Cafe, the Student Government office, Student Life offices, Career Services offices, and faculty offices. [ 6 ] The center was completely renovated in 2006 to better serve the growing needs of the college. [ 7 ]

The Dorchester Administration Building houses the offices of Academic Advising, Admissions, the Alumni Association, the Business Office, Financial Aid, Human Resources, Institutional Advancement, Research and Planning, Public Information, Registration, and Student Retention Services. The building also houses the offices of the President and Vice Presidents of the college. [ 8 ] Original construction of the Dorchester Building began in 1966, and the building was completely renovated in 2003. [ 9 ]

The Chesapeake College Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) is a licensed childcare center with the purpose of serving those parents of children 3 through 7 years of age who are students, staff, faculty at the college as well as parents throughout the community. [ 10 ] In addition to functioning as a licensed childcare facility, the center also serves as a learning site for students enrolled in the Early Childhood Development program. [ 11 ] Also located in the ECDC building is the Chesapeake Child Care Resource Center, which is one of the 12 child care resource centers in Maryland that make up the Maryland Child Care Resource Network and began start-up operations on June 1, 1999. [ 12 ] Funding for the center is through a grant from the Maryland Department of Human Resources . Core Services The sole focus of the Chesapeake Child Care Resource Center is to foster and provide an array of supports to the local community, which includes the college's five service-area counties Caroline , Dorchester , Kent , Queen Anne , and Talbot . [ 12 ] Services provided to the Upper Shore Community from Chesapeake Child Care Resource Center include: Helping parents to find and evaluate child care Training for parents and child care professionals Technical assistance to improve and expand child care resources Working with employers on work/family issues