Jefferson State Junior College was established as one of twelve junior colleges authorized by the State Legislature, Act 93, on May 3, 1963. From the outset, Alabama’s two-year colleges were designed to provide economic, geographic, and academic access to all citizens. Jefferson State enrolled its first students in September 1965 and patterned its early development to support the clearly articulated state-level goal of extending educational opportunities to the people of Alabama.
The college received initial accreditation by the Commission Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools on December 14, 1968. The college offered both traditional university parallel programs and a range of career programs that had grown out of responsiveness to identified community and workforce needs. On February 23, 1989, the Alabama State Board of Education gave recognition to the scope of programs and services provided by the college by officially changing the name from Jefferson State Junior College to Jefferson State Community College.
The original campus, on 274 acres in northeast Jefferson County (Birmingham, Alabama) is comprised of thirteen buildings that contain 500,000 square feet of classroom, office, and related space. Many buildings on the campus bear the names of community benefactors (H. Y. and Ruby Carson, John B. Bethune, Harvey DeRamus, and Eugene Fitzgerald), elected officials (James B. Allen, George C. Wallace, Lurleen B. Wallace and Harold C. Martin), and former Jefferson State Presidents (Leroy Brown, George L. Layton, and Judy M. Merritt), and Vice President Joseph Morris, who were instrumental in the early development of the college.
As the college’s academic offerings expanded and became more comprehensive, the college saw a need to refine its programs and engage in deep and candid introspections regarding its mission, purposes, and unique place in the community and in the Alabama Community College System. As a result, the college identified two critical community needs: (1) access for Shelby and southern Jefferson Counties and (2) a well-trained workforce.
The college addressed the first need by opening the Shelby Center in January 1993, in northern Shelby County. In June 1996, the center was designated a branch campus by the Alabama Commission Higher Education. The approximately 60-acre Shelby-Hoover Campus now has three multi-purpose buildings that contain a combined total of 211,000 square feet.
The college addressed the second need, a well-trained workforce, by upgrading its career credit programs and investing heavily in specialized training. To insure academic quality at measurable national standards the college made a commitment to pursue appropriate specialized accreditation for applicable programs. See the list of current accreditations on page 1 of this document. In addition to upgrading the college’s credit programs, considerable resources have been devoted to specialized training initiatives. The college renovated an existing building to become a manufacturing center and established an ACT Center, a WorkKeys Service Center, and a One-Stop Center for the delivery of workforce training and related support services.
The official service area for the college was revised in 2003 to include the western part of St. Clair County. Classes were offered at the St. Clair Center-Moody (Moody, Alabama) for the first time in Fall 2003. On April 22, 2004, the board approved another instructional site for St. Clair County in Pell City, and the college offered classes at that location in Fall 2004. On August 22, 2004, the St. Clair Economic Development Council deeded approximately 50 acres (located in Pell City, Alabama) to the Alabama State Board of Education for the benefit of Jefferson State Community College. With acceptance of the land, the board made a commitment to the construction of a permanent instructional facility at that location. The college offered classes in that facility, a three-story, 47,500 square foot building, in Fall 2006.
In 2007, the Alabama State Board of Education again revised the service area of JSCC to include Chilton County and approved construction for a multipurpose instructional facility in Clanton, Alabama (Chilton County). This 30,000-square foot building, located on approximately 60 acres, opened in fall of 2008.
Jefferson State Community College has had three previous Presidents: Dr. Leroy Brown (1964-71), Dr. George L. Layton (1971-79), Dr. Judy M. Merritt (1979-2014). The current President is Keith Brown. These individuals brought unique strengths to bear on the development and maturation process at the particular time in which each served the institution.
For over 60 years, Jefferson State Community College has provided countless opportunities for the greater Birmingham area and is known for its tradition of quality education and cutting-edge technology training.