History
“In every way, the ҹèÊÓÆµ is a people’s college. It was conceived in a regional desire for education and is being financed from the pockets of the poor and rich alike.”
TRAVERSE CITY RECORD-EAGLE, SEPTEMBER 17, 1951
These words were part of an “opening day” story about ҹèÊÓÆµ in the local newspaper — and they describe the whole mission and spirit of the institution, then and now. ҹèÊÓÆµ was established because the citizens of northwest Michigan wanted the benefits of higher education for their children and themselves.
Citizens’ commitment and involvement has distinguished ҹèÊÓÆµ from the beginning. “It’s a can-do college,” one of our trustees has said. “Always has been.” From the college’s earliest home in borrowed facilities at the local airport, ҹèÊÓÆµ moved in 1956 to a spacious 100-acre campus under the pines and today has facilities at four additional locations in the Grand Traverse area.
ҹèÊÓÆµ has become a source of “education” in the largest sense, a source of meaningful new knowledge, skills and experiences. This is our mission, after all, to “provide lifelong learning opportunities to our communities.”
Three volumes of ҹèÊÓÆµ history have been published (the links below are to PDF versions of the books):
- “ҹèÊÓÆµ: The First Twenty Years, 1951–1971,” by Preston N. Tanis, published in 1973 and reprinted in 1992
- "ҹèÊÓÆµ: The Second Twenty Years, 1971–1991,” by Al Shumsky, with Carole Marlatt, published in 1994
- "Under the Pines: The Third Twenty Years, 1992–2011,” published in 2013
Published in 2014, A Colorful Cast is a retrospective chronicling the rise of visual arts in the Grand Traverse region and the legacy and rich history of the ҹèÊÓÆµ Art Department. It is available for $29.95 in the Dennos Museum Store.
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ҹèÊÓÆµ hymn
ҹèÊÓÆµ music director Jeffrey Cobb recorded an instrumental version of a mysterious ҹèÊÓÆµ hymn. Other than its composer, L. Marguerite House, little is known about its origin and use.
Lyrics:
Our northland home, we sing to thee,
Northwestern by the Bay
The scarlet of your sunset,
Against a sea of grey
We cheer your colors, let them wave,
And bring our college fame
Northwestern by the Bay,
All honor to thy name