Chesapeake College is a public community college with its main campus in Wye Mills, Maryland, and a satellite campus in Cambridge. It was the first regional community college in the state and serves the five Mid-Shore counties: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot.
History
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. 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.
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."Chesapeake College through the Decades. (n.d.). Chesapeake College through the Decades [Plaques of history]. Wye Mills, MD: Chesapeake College.
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.
Facilities and buildings Chesapeake College's main campus sits on 170-acres. The main campus has 12 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.
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. The center was completely renovated in 2006 to better serve the growing needs of the college.
Dorchester Administration Building
The Dorchester Administration Building houses the offices of Academic Advising, Admissions, the Alumni Association, the Business Office, Financial Aid, Human Resources, Institutional Advancement, IT, For All Seasons office, Registration, and Student Retention Services, including the Dean of Students. The building also houses the offices of the President and Vice Presidents of the college. Original construction of the Dorchester Building began in 1966, and the building was completely renovated in 2003.
Chesapeake Child Care Resource Center and Public Safety
This building was the Chesapeake College Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC), a licensed childcare center with the purpose of serving those parents of children 3 through 7 years of age who were students, staff, faculty at the college as well as parents throughout the community. In addition to functioning as a licensed childcare facility, the center also served as a learning site for students enrolled in the Early Childhood Development program.
Currently located in the 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. Funding for the center is through a grant from the Maryland Department of Human Resources. Its childcare training services have included Project Right Steps since 2005.
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.
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
The same building houses the campus' Public Safety officers and staff.
Eastern Shore Higher Education Center The Eastern Shore Higher Education Center (HEC) Building was added to the campus in 2003. The facilities are utilized not only by Chesapeake College but also by other local universities and colleges for undergraduate and graduate programs. The Center provides space for business functions and Continuing Education courses and programs.
Gratz College, University of Maryland University College, Stevenson University, and Notre Dame of Maryland University have offered courses at the center, while the current participating higher education institutions are Salisbury University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, La Salle University, and Bowie State University.
Kent Humanities Building
The Kent Humanities Building houses the Cadby Theatre and Lobby, lecture classrooms, and faculty offices. The building is named after Kent County, which was established on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1642. The Kent Humanities Building was originally built in 1969 and was renovated in 2010. Per renovation, the building now houses the Cadby Theatre, which can seat 100 occupants and is equipped with lighting, sound, and audio/visual equipment. This smaller of two campus theatres was named after Louise Cadby, who served as the college's first drama instructor from 1968 to 1985.
Learning Resource Center
Chesapeake College's Learning Resource Center provides various resources for faculty, students, and members of the community, including the campus's Academic Support Services.
Library The Library helps to meet the information needs of Chesapeake's students and faculty as well as members of the local community by providing over 22,600 photos, books, films, and recordings. Chesapeake's library provides students with more than 300,000 e-resources, including peer reviewed e-books, journals, periodicals, and subject-specific databases. The library is equipped with numerous computers and study spaces for both individuals and groups. Assistance for students is available through the library in person, online, or by phone. Academic Support Center Located on the first floor of the Learning Resource Center, the Academic Support Center provides students and faculty with assistance in most academic subjects, especially mathematics, science, and writing across the disciplines. Tutoring The Academic Support Center provides tutoring, both individually and in groups, for students on campus by faculty, professional staff, and peer consultants. Tutoring is available for most academic disciplines with special services provided for every step of the writing process. Services include sample papers and handouts. Special hours are dedicated each semester for tutoring services. Supplemental Instruction The center also provides supplemental instruction (SI) for students in courses that are considered to be difficult. Supplemental instruction is available to students currently enrolled in the targeted course. SI courses are subject to change each semester. Project Mainstay The Academic Support Center housed Project Mainstay, a federally funded TRIO Student Support Services program designed to help eligible students stay in school, graduate, and transfer to a four-year institution. In order for students to be eligible for that program they had to meet one of the following criteria: be a first-generation college student, be overcoming a physical or learning disability, or come from a low-income family. Project Mainstay provided students with individualized tutoring one hour a week for each enrolled course, financial aid, time management, and test anxiety assistance, transfer and career opportunities and much more. In 2015 Chesapeake College transitioned from Project Mainstay to the classic TRiO Student Support Services program, designed to guide eligible students to successfully complete their classes, graduate, and then continue their education at a 4-year college. Testing Center The Testing Center, located in the Learning Resource Center, has weekday hours in which the center administers the placement tests for those registering for courses. The center also administers proctored exams, make-up exams, and online course exams. Photo identification is needed in order to take tests and individuals must arrive two hours prior to the center closing.
Health Professions and Athletics Center
The Physical Education Building housed the gym, fitness center, pool, locker rooms, and faculty and staff offices. The Physical Education Building was renovated as part of a 2012-2014 project to move all health professions instruction to the main campus in a new Health Professions and Athletics Center.
The five counties the college serves—Caroline, Talbot, Queen Anne's, Kent, and Dorchester—share a $9 million contribution to the new Health Professions and Athletics Center. In a 3–2 vote to approve funding, Caroline County and Dorchester County voted against the contribution. The state awarded the college $27 million to fund the project, or 75% of the cost, towards construction, leaving the other counties to pay 25%. Each county pays a debt of about $120,000 a year for the next 20 years to fund the project.
As a result of the controversial vote, Caroline County administrators have said that they will no longer support funding to Chesapeake College, which causes the other Mid-Shore counties that also make contributions to have to make a permanent increase in their budget. Jeff Ghrist, then Vice President and spokesperson for Caroline County, argued that the county would be unable to contribute $200,000 to the $1 million expense for an emergency roof replacement to another campus building.
Queen Anne's Technical Building
The Queen Anne's Technical Building features computer lab classrooms, a large instruction classroom, and faculty and staff offices. The building was originally constructed in 1969. Although the building has not been officially renovated, it does house up-to-date computers, software, and a distance learning classroom. The Queen Anne's County Technical Building was named after Queen Anne's County, which was founded in 1706 in honor of Queen Anne who ruled Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714. Queen Anne's was the first English settlement in Maryland under a 1631 patent from the king of England.
Talbot Science Building
The Talbot Sciences Building houses the office of the Dean of Liberal Arts and Science, faculty offices, science lab classrooms, and large instruction classrooms. The Talbot Sciences Building was one of the original buildings on campus and was renovated in 2009. The Talbot Science Building is named after Talbot County, which was established in 1661 in honor of Lady Grace Talbot.
Todd Performing Arts Center
The Todd Performing Arts Center (TPAC) building houses Todd Performing Arts Center Theatre and Lobby, box offices, the office of the executive director, faculty offices, and a training/catering kitchen.
Cambridge Center