May 3, 1963

George C. Wallace Community College in Dothan, formerly George C. Wallace State Technical Junior College, is one of the largest and oldest community colleges in the state. The Alabama Legislature authorized the establishment of the junior college on May 3, 1963, on the site of what was then the George C. Wallace State Technical Trade School. Established in Dothan in 1949, the trade school was one of the first of its kind in Alabama. In 1969, the trade school and junior college were merged to form southern Alabama’s first community college, and its associate nursing degree program was established. The name was later changed to George C. Wallace Community College. Wallace has continued to expand, with campuses in Dothan and Eufaula. Since it was created, more than 100,000 students have attended the college. It provides more than 80 percent of the medical workforce support personnel and fills jobs at many local businesses and industries. In 2008, Community College Week ranked Wallace Dothan among the fastest-growing public two-year colleges in the nation.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Aerial image of Wallace Community College, 1998. (USGS, Wikipedia)

Student in the nursing program. (Wallace Community College)

Farm machinery student. (Wallace Community College)

Bevill Center at the Sparks Campus. (Wallace Community College)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.