History
As early as 1946, a group of area citizens sought to establish a two-year junior college in northeastern Connecticut, primarily to meet educational needs of returning World War II veterans. While their efforts were not successful at that time, a renewed drive was begun with the formal organization of the state system of community colleges in 1965. The Northeast Regional Community College Committee was established that fall and worked diligently during the next several years. The result was passage of legislation in 1969 authorizing the establishment of the College. Between 1969 and 1971 strong pressures at the state level built up to postpone the opening of further colleges for an indefinite period. However, the efforts of the local Citizens Planning Committee and the support of thousands of local citizens who wrote letters to Hartford resulted in the announcement in January 1971 that funds would be budgeted by the state so that classes could start in the fall.
The College took its name from the area drained by the major river in northeastern Connecticut. The name derives from a small tribe of Indians that inhabited the region. According to some sources, Quinebaug means literally “crazy river” – signifying the meandering course of the river that now bears the name.
Dr. Robert E. Miller was selected as the first president and quickly assembled a small staff. On September 27, 1971, the College opened with 215 students and eight full-time professional employees. This cadre was supported by a few office support personnel and several part-time instructors. Space was leased from and later college office trailers located on the grounds of the Harvard H. Ellis Regional Vocational Technical School. Classrooms for afternoon and evening classes were leased from the Ellis Technical School as well as from Killingly High School.
Even before the College opened, a Citizens Planning Committee had developed criteria for a campus and had visited several possible sites. By the fall of 1978, however, while it was operating simultaneously from four “temporary” sites in and around Danielson, QVCC was faced with perhaps the most difficult period in its history. The then Board of Education cut one million dollars from the requested appropriation for the QVCC campus and voted to delay the beginning of construction. There was speculation that QVCC was about to be merged with another of the state’s community colleges. An outpouring of expressions of citizens concern persuaded the Board of Higher Education to rescind its delay order and to restore half a million dollars in funding. Construction proceeded and the new facility was dedicated in June 1983.
The College’s first commencement was held in June 1973 when 19 degrees were conferred. In the fall of 2005, 1,714 students enrolled in credit courses. Thousands of others registered for credit-free activities. At the 33rd commencement, May 2005, 174 graduates received degrees.
In 1986, the College opened a satellite location in Willimantic. In the summer of 1992 the legislature merged the community and technical colleges in the five cities where both existed and expanded the mission of all the colleges to include technical programs. In May 1992 Dianne E. Williams was appointed as the College’s second president following the retirement of Dr. Miller.