Southwestern Michigan College

 

Southwestern Michigan College
Motto	Smart. Close. Affordable.
Established	1964
Type	Community College
Chairman	Dr. Fred L. Mathews
President	Dr. David Mathews
Vice-president	Dr. Diane Chaddock
Students	3,262 in Fall 2010
Location	Dowagiac, Michigan, USA
Campus	Dowagiac with one satellite campus (Niles)
Athletics	Intramural Sports
Sports	None
Nickname	SMC
Mascot	Roadrunner
Website	swmich.edu

Southwestern Michigan College's Dowagiac campus

Southwestern Michigan College is a public community college. The Main campus is near Dowagiac, Michigan and The Niles Area Campus (NAC) is located outside the city limits of Niles, Michigan

Academics

Southwestern Michigan College offers certificate programs in Automotive Technology, Construction Trades Green Technology, Electrocardiogram (ECG) Technician, Emergency Medical Technician, Fire Science, General Education, Home Health Aide, Hotel Management, Information Technology Help Desk, Mechatronics Technology, Medical Assisting-Clinical, Medical Assisting-Office, Medical First Responder, Nursing Assistant (CNA), Practical Nursing LPN, Occupational Technology, Office Assistant/Specialist, Paramedic, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomy, Precision Production Technology, Small Business Management/Entrepreneurship, Special Event Planning and Welding Technology.

Southwestern Michigan College offers Associates degrees in Accounting, Automotive Technology, Business, Business-Concertration in Hotel Management, Business-Concentration in Office Management, Busienss-Concentration in Special Events, Construction Trades Green Technology, Early Childhood Education, Educational Paraprofessional, Engineering Technology, Fire Science, Graphic Design Technology, Health Information Technology, Industrial Technology, Information Technology (Application Development, Networking and Support), Mechatronics Technology, Medical Assisting, Music, Nursing (LPN to RN), Nursing (Paramedic to RN), Nursing (RN), Occupational Technology, Paramedic, Precision Production Technology, Professional Communication (Communication, Creative Writing and Professional Writing tracks), and Social Work.

Visit the (Southwestern Michigan College website) for complete program guides.

History

Southwestern Michigan College was founded on November 19, 1964 after the voters of Cass County, Michigan approved a 1.5 million dollar tax levy to fund a Cass County Community College. On September 12, 1965 ground was broken for the main campus in Dowagiac, Michigan. Classes began at Southwestern Michigan College in September 1966. The college is located three miles (5 km) outside of Dowagiac, Michigan city limits. Their sports teams were nicknamed the "Roadrunners" before SMC dropped sports in 1998.

Main campus

Currently the Main Campus houses 10 buildings:

• Jan and A.C Kairis Building
• Barbara Wood Building
• Charles O. Zollar Sports Complex (Student Activity Center)
• Dale A. Lyons Building
• Foster W. Daugherty Building
• Fred L. Mathews Library and Conference Center
• Keith H. McKenzie Hall (Student Housing)
• East Hall (Student Housing)
• College Services Building
• William P.D. O'Leary Building

The (Museum at Southwestern Michigan College) is located within the Dale A. Lyons Building. The Museum started collecting local artifices in 1968 and is home to a large collection of Round Oak Stoves. The Museum opened to the public in May, 1993.

Satellite campus

In July 1992 the Niles Area Campus (NAC) opened with a new 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m²) facility, located just outside the city limits of Niles, Michigan. In 1999 a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m²) addition was completed which came close to doubling the size of the Niles Area Campus. In 2001 a 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m²) Michigan Technology Center was add to the Niles Area Campus. This building is known as the Harry T. Gast Building, named for the former Michigan state senator.

Accreditations

Southwestern Michigan College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Southwestern Michigan College is also a member of the American Association of Community Colleges.

On-Campus Student Housing

In fall 2009, Southwestern Michigan College opened an on-campus living option with the opening of the first residential housing facility on campus with a 130-bed student housing unit. On August 16, 2009 the student housing was dedicated and named in Honor of Keith H. McKenzie. Southwestern Michigan College's second housing unit on the College's Dowagiac campus opened for the fall 2010 semester.

Board of Trustees

Southwestern Michigan College is governed by a 7 member locally-elected Board of Trustees.

Name	Position
Mathews, Fred L. !Dr. Fred L. Mathews	Chairman
McKenzie, Keith !Keith McKenzie	Vice-Chairman
White, William !William White	Secretary
Jerdon, Thomas !Thomas Jerdon	Treasurer
Coles, Eric !Eric Coles	Trustee
Cripe, Beth J. !Beth J. Cripe	Trustee
File, Paul D. !Paul D. File	Trustee

External links

• Southwestern Michigan College Home Page
• Michigan Community College Association