Jeff State Community College celebrating 20 years in Pell City
Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Bob Crisp and submitted
Looking forward from a starting point, some might call those stepping stones up ahead. But looking back on the 20-year history of Jefferson State Community College in St. Clair County, one would be hard-pressed not to conclude they were all milestones.
The late Jefferson State President Judy Merritt could not only see the proverbial forest – and the trees – she saw a community college campus thriving like the pines and hardwoods towering above her at the time.
Joined by staunch advocates of greater access to higher education closer to home, former Pell City Mayor Guin Robinson, St. Clair Economic Development Executive Director Ed Gardner Sr., St. Clair Commission Chairman Stan Batemon, EDC Chairman Tommy Bowers and Realtor and community leader Dick Whatley, the vision took shape.
What would grow from those woods a stone’s throw from Interstate 20 is the thriving community college they envisioned. At the 20-year mark, the proof is in the numbers:
- 10,000+ students served.
- 2,076 non-credit students benefitting from learning opportunities.
- 1,131 high school students earning college credits in dual enrollment.
- 514 nursing graduates filling much needed roles in the healthcare sector throughout Alabama and beyond.
“From the beginning, this community embraced Jefferson State,” said President Keith Brown at a community breakfast celebrating the 20th anniversary. “We thank you for welcoming us, and all you do for the college.”
“Community partners, Pell City leaders, the St. Clair Economic Development Council, and Judy Merritt and the college, all came together,” said Robinson, now Jefferson State Dean of Economic Development. “The vision was never about a building, but it was to create opportunities that did not exist close to home. Jefferson State has become integral to the community, and its success belongs to the entire community.”
Officials talked of the opportunities it has provided over the past two decades. They cited examples like the scores of first-generation college students and a 40-year old mother going back to school, a step she would not have taken had it not been close to home.
In a video marking the anniversary, Batemon, a Jefferson State alumnus himself, noted that the college’s local presence has “affected economic development in a very positive way.”
Former State Senator Jim McClendon, instrumental in securing state funding for expansions and improvements at the college, talked of its importance in the everyday lives of citizens. “It produces people working in our county and taking care of folks.”
Marie Manning, former superintendent of education for St. Clair County Schools and vice chairman of the Alabama State School Board, reasoned that the college has meant “more than can ever be expressed,” providing countless educational opportunities for St. Clair Countians.
Shiloh Swiney, chief nursing officer at UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair, has seen firsthand the value in the hospital’s partnership with Jefferson State and its Nursing and Allied Health School at the Pell City campus.
“We have students doing their clinicals here nearly every semester, and their students are always top notch. They are good with the patients. They’re able to come here and gain real world experience.” In turn, the hospital’s hiring benefits from filling positions with skilled graduates.
“It’s a powerful opportunity for both,” Swiney said. “We are honored to play a role in their education and development. We are so glad to have them here.”
In presenting a Pell City Council resolution recognizing the anniversary, Mayor Bill Pruitt called his tenure “an incredible opportunity to be a part of a lot of growth and development from the groundwork laid decades before,” adding “thanks to those that came before us.”
Robinson offered his thanks to the community “for everything you’ve done and continue to do. This grew from years of community conversations. Residents needed greater access to higher education and workforce development without leaving the area.”
That presence began in Moody, gained momentum and settled in a larger, bolder vision in Pell City. “It came together around workforce development and economic development,” Robinson said. They asked questions like, ‘What does it look like?’ and ‘How can we best serve for the long term?’
“Judy Merritt’s leadership cannot be overstated. If Judy Merritt got behind a project, it happened.” Her successor, Brown, was on the team overseeing the building of it. Now, he oversees its success story.
Robinson singled out other early movers and shakers that led to the opening – Industrial Development Board Chairman Bob Barnett and former Mayor Bill Hereford, who gave the first donation for the campus. “They recognized what a community college presence could mean.”
At 20 years and counting, it provides an opportunity not only to reflect but to look ahead, Robinson said. “Jefferson State allowed students to get a college education and training in their own community, and it has made a tremendous difference in the lives of students and their families. Our responsibility is to build on 20 years and continue. Our greatest days are ahead.”
