CCC marking 20 years of independence

A lot of things didn’t go as planned in 1990 — the Time Warner merger, Mike Tyson’s title defense against James “Buster” Douglas.

Others gained more steam. A trial run of what would become the “World Wide Web.” The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup without Wayne Grezky.

And Clovis decided it should operate its own community college.

Beginnings

It was in September 1990 that a mill levy was approved, establishing a two-year institution called Clovis Community College. The school was established in 1961 as a branch campus of Eastern New Mexico University, with night classes taught at Clovis High School.

“There were people who had been here from the earlier days,” CCC President John Neibling said. “They talked about how they felt like they could maybe chart their own course. Not that they didn’t like Eastern — we still like Eastern, we think it’s wonderful. But (they felt) Clovis should control Clovis.”

By that time, the campus had undergone major changes.

First off, it was an actual campus, having moved from CHS to an old elementary building to a 25-acre tract of land donated by Ervin Schepps. Students could take vocational programs and use the services of a student activities center, art classrooms and a computer facility.

But the campus on Schepps Boulevard still read “ENMU” until 1990.

“I think we felt we could concentrate on our specific talents as a two-year vocational program,” said Jim Turner, who served as vice president of administration at ENMU-Clovis. “Our faculty indicated they wanted to have the vote.”

The mill levy vote passed, approving the formation of a board of trustees and dissolving association with ENMU.

“It was courageous leadership from (President) Dr. (Jay) Gurley and Dr. Turner, I think, that brought this about,” Neibling said, but Turner downplayed any difficulty.

“I don’t think we had any problems,” Turner said. “We had the talent and the organization already.”

Changes

The next five years saw classroom additions, an addition of a radiation tech program and an expansion of the Skills Development Center.

Rosie Corrie, CCC’s director of admissions, was at the college when the transition took place. To her, it was exciting to receive the first course catalog with “Clovis Community College” on the cover, but the transition just seemed natural.

“We added some new programs,” Corrie said. “There weren’t a whole lot of significant changes. We, of course, added our own graduation ceremony.”

Becky Rowley, who has been at the college since 1998, said aside from obvious increases to its nursing program, growth has been a constant.

“We’ve expanded across the board, but we added some programs we didn’t have when I started out here,” said Rowley, CCC’s executive vice president.

“When I first started, our EMS lab was also our country and western dance room.”

When Rowley first arrived, she said the average CCC students were in their 30s. Dual credit programs with area high schools helped change that, and a shift to online courses allowed diversity in students and professors. A sports psychology class with Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett, for instance, never would have been possible without an online component.

“We can get instructors that don’t necessarily have to live here that can teach for us online,” Rowley said. “Almost all of them have previous affiliation with us.”

Corrie said one of her favorite changes is the streamlining of the process. Computer-savvy students can register and pay bills from their home computer, and in-person visitors can register, get financial aid and receive their student ID card without leaving one room.

Coming up

Neibling said Gurley and Turner (who retired in 1999 as president) will be honored Sept. 22 with a pair of renaming ceremonies. From that point on, students will use the Jay Gurley Town Hall and the James H. Turner Business Services Center.

Neibling said attendance is up at CCC, but an official number won’t be realized until later in the semester because the college offers eight-week programs later in the semester and is still accepting applicants.

“I think we’ve grown because we provided a service to the population,” Turner said. “We’ve tailored our work to fit the community.”