FVCC: 50 years and growing
An important milestone is being celebrated this week as the community marks the 50th anniversary of the vote to approve the start of a community college in Kalispell.
To understand the profound effect Flathead Valley Community College has had on Northwest Montana over the past 50 years, one only has to imagine what our valley would be like without it.
Our community college has opened minds and shaped career paths for thousands of students through the years. We’ve come to rely on FVCC as an important conduit that prepares students who want to head directly into the workforce or complete their foundational courses before transferring to another institution.
Throughout its five decades, FVCC has gone the distance to meet the needs of the business community by offering curriculum and training to prepare students for jobs in growth sectors such as nursing, heavy equipment operation, firearms manufacturing and craft brewing.
The college also has kept its academic courses and instructors strong for those students seeking a four-year degree at another college. We have heard time and time again how FVCC graduates have excelled in their careers because of their time at FVCC, and how instructors foster one-on-one relationships with students that position them for success.
FVCC’s Continuing Education Center has provided wonderful outreach and opportunities for people to take non-credit courses and learn new skills that range from making cheese to playing the ukulele.
The colleges theater arts and logger sports programs are other FVCC success stories.
None of these educational opportunities would be possible without the vision of FVCC’s founders. We owe a debt of gratitude to those five civic leaders — Owen Sowerwine, Thelma Hetland, Bill McClaren, Norm Beyer and Les Sterling — who sat around a kitchen table so long ago and dared to dream about what was possible. They and other community leaders like Henry Robinson jump-started something pretty amazing.
The Daily Inter Lake today begins its in-depth look at FVCC’s 50 years of education and service to the Flathead Valley. Watch for several stories in the weeks to come about the college’s past, present and future.