Norwalk Community College
Encyclopedia
Norwalk Community College (NCC), formerly known as Norwalk State Technical College and Norwalk Community-Technical College, is a public
community college
in Norwalk
, Connecticut
. It is the second-largest of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges.
The school, which has an open admissions policy, offers 40 associate degree and 27 certificate programs. Classes are offered in two semesters (fall and spring) and six summer sessions.
NCC has about 6,000 full- and part-time students in credit programs and about 5,800 students in noncredit programs. A commuter school with no dormitories, the college's primary service area includes ten towns in southwest Fairfield County. Housatonic Community College
in Bridgeport
, Gateway Community College
in New Haven
and North Haven
, and Naugatuck Valley Community College
in Waterbury
are the nearest of the state's other community colleges.
The Everett I.L. Baker Library in the East Campus building has 60,000 books, periodicals and newspapers, along with audiovisual materials and computers for student use.
Along with certificates, the college grants degrees in Associate in Arts
, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science. Graduates of NCC are eligible for articulated admission to the Connecticut state university system and the University of Connecticut.
Dr. David L. Levinson has been president of the school since August 2004. He previously served as the academic vice president at Bergen Community College
in Paramus, New Jersey
. Levinson has taught at Bergen Community College, Merrimack College
, Norwalk Community College, the Teachers College of Columbia University
, and Tufts University
. He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the State University of New York at New Paltz
, and both a master's degree and doctorate in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
. Levinson sits on the state government's Early Childhood Research and Policy Council, the American Council of Education’s Commission on Lifelong Learning and the governing boards of the U Thant Institute, Connecticut Campus Compact, Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk Children’s Foundation, Norwalk/Wilton United Way, and the Norwalk Youth Symphony
.
In 2009, the college graduated more than 700 students. More than 25 percent of the Class of 2009 graduated from high schools outside the United States.
The college has an honors program, "Interdisciplinary Studies" courses, professional and extended studies programs, a "Business and Professional Development Center," and a "Workforce Education Institute". The college also has nursing, Child Care Development, and English as a Second Language programs.
The "East Campus" building contains general classrooms, the library, nursing and computer laboratories, the language lab, art classrooms, administrative and faculty offices, the 298-seat PepsiCo Theater, a broadcast television studio, the Child Development Laboratory School, an art gallery, and the college bookstore.
The "West Campus" building houses the William H. Schwab Center for Information Technology, science labs, general classrooms, the Culinary Arts Laboratory, dining room, engineering technology labs, faculty offices, academic center, Developmental Studies Center, gymnasium, fitness center, and cafeteria.
A satellite campus is located at the Rippowam Center in Stamford, and some classes are offered on-line. The college has a satellite Nursing Program at Gateway Community College
in New Haven
.
In addition, some individual programs are accredited by national professional associations. Examples include the Legal Assistant, Nursing, Respiratory Care, and Engineering Technology curricula.
, an academic honor society for two-year colleges. The college also has a student newspaper, The Voice, and an archeology club. It also has an active student government body, the NCC Student Senate.
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
in Norwalk
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. It is the second-largest of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges.
The school, which has an open admissions policy, offers 40 associate degree and 27 certificate programs. Classes are offered in two semesters (fall and spring) and six summer sessions.
NCC has about 6,000 full- and part-time students in credit programs and about 5,800 students in noncredit programs. A commuter school with no dormitories, the college's primary service area includes ten towns in southwest Fairfield County. Housatonic Community College
Housatonic Community College
Housatonic Community College is a two-year public college located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is currently one of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges system...
in Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, Gateway Community College
Gateway Community College
Gateway Community College is a public community college located in Connecticut. The college maintains two campuses: one in New Haven and one in North Haven. As of February 17, 2010, Gateway had the 1st highest credit enrollment among Connecticut's community colleges, with 6987 students enrolled...
in New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
and North Haven
North Haven, Connecticut
North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut.North Haven is less than ten miles from downtown New Haven and Yale University. It is near Sleeping Giant State Park and home the Quinnipiac University School of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing,...
, and Naugatuck Valley Community College
Naugatuck Valley Community College
Naugatuck Valley Community College is a two-year public college located in Waterbury, Connecticut. It is currently one of the 30 colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges system. NVCC grants a variety of associates degrees and also has certificate programs.The campus is equipped with...
in Waterbury
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
are the nearest of the state's other community colleges.
The Everett I.L. Baker Library in the East Campus building has 60,000 books, periodicals and newspapers, along with audiovisual materials and computers for student use.
Along with certificates, the college grants degrees in Associate in Arts
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science. Graduates of NCC are eligible for articulated admission to the Connecticut state university system and the University of Connecticut.
Dr. David L. Levinson has been president of the school since August 2004. He previously served as the academic vice president at Bergen Community College
Bergen Community College
Bergen Community College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Bergen County, New Jersey. Its primary campus is in Paramus where it was built on 9 holes of the Orchard Hills Golf Course, cutting Orchard Hills' size down in half...
in Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,342. A suburb of New York City, Paramus is located between 15–20 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan and approximately west of Upper Manhattan.Paramus is one of...
. Levinson has taught at Bergen Community College, Merrimack College
Merrimack College
Merrimack College is an independent college in the Roman Catholic, Augustinian tradition located in North Andover, Massachusetts, north of Boston, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate degrees in business, education, science, engineering, and the liberal arts...
, Norwalk Community College, the Teachers College of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
. He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the State University of New York at New Paltz
State University of New York at New Paltz
The State University of New York at New Paltz, known as SUNY New Paltz for short, is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It was founded in 1828 as the School for teaching of classics. In 1885, the New Paltz Normal and Training School was established as a school to prepare teachers for the...
, and both a master's degree and doctorate in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
. Levinson sits on the state government's Early Childhood Research and Policy Council, the American Council of Education’s Commission on Lifelong Learning and the governing boards of the U Thant Institute, Connecticut Campus Compact, Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk Children’s Foundation, Norwalk/Wilton United Way, and the Norwalk Youth Symphony
Norwalk Youth Symphony
The Norwalk Youth Symphony is a youth symphony for students in middle school and high school in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is known as being one of the most prestigious youth symphonies in the United States; The symphony attracts students from all over Connecticut and in some parts of New York...
.
History
Norwalk Community College and Norwalk State Technical College were each founded in 1961. In 1992, the colleges merged to become "Norwalk Community-Technical College." In October 1999 the name format "community college" was approved for all state community colleges by the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Community-Technical Colleges.In 2009, the college graduated more than 700 students. More than 25 percent of the Class of 2009 graduated from high schools outside the United States.
Programs
The William H. Schwab Center for Information Technology opened in the fall of 2003. The $30 million-program prepares students to enter high-technology jobs and serves as a workforce training center. The facility has technology classrooms, laboraties, a video conferencing center, and a "Security Institute and Degree Program", which, according to the 2004-2006 school catalogue, is "the only undergraduate computer security degree program in the nation that fully articulates with four-year degree programs."The college has an honors program, "Interdisciplinary Studies" courses, professional and extended studies programs, a "Business and Professional Development Center," and a "Workforce Education Institute". The college also has nursing, Child Care Development, and English as a Second Language programs.
Campus
The college is located on a 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) campus on Richards Avenue in West Norwalk, north of U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95. The campus has two 140000 square feet (13,006.4 m²) buildings, one on each side of the street. Classes are offered in both buildings.The "East Campus" building contains general classrooms, the library, nursing and computer laboratories, the language lab, art classrooms, administrative and faculty offices, the 298-seat PepsiCo Theater, a broadcast television studio, the Child Development Laboratory School, an art gallery, and the college bookstore.
The "West Campus" building houses the William H. Schwab Center for Information Technology, science labs, general classrooms, the Culinary Arts Laboratory, dining room, engineering technology labs, faculty offices, academic center, Developmental Studies Center, gymnasium, fitness center, and cafeteria.
A satellite campus is located at the Rippowam Center in Stamford, and some classes are offered on-line. The college has a satellite Nursing Program at Gateway Community College
Gateway Community College
Gateway Community College is a public community college located in Connecticut. The college maintains two campuses: one in New Haven and one in North Haven. As of February 17, 2010, Gateway had the 1st highest credit enrollment among Connecticut's community colleges, with 6987 students enrolled...
in New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
Accreditation
The college is accredited by:- New England Association of Schools and CollegesNew England Association of Schools and CollegesThe New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
- Connecticut Board of Governors for Higher Education
- Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.
In addition, some individual programs are accredited by national professional associations. Examples include the Legal Assistant, Nursing, Respiratory Care, and Engineering Technology curricula.
Extracurricular activities
Alpha Iota Nu is a chapter of the Phi Theta KappaPhi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa, also ΦΘΚ or sometimes PTK , is the international honor society of two-year colleges and academic programs, particularly community colleges and junior colleges. It also includes Associate's degree-granting programs offered by four-year colleges...
, an academic honor society for two-year colleges. The college also has a student newspaper, The Voice, and an archeology club. It also has an active student government body, the NCC Student Senate.
Notable alumni
- Erik BedardErik BedardÉrik Joseph Bédard is a free agent Canadian professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball.Bédard previously pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners. With Baltimore, he was the staff ace, setting the franchise single-season strikeouts per nine innings record at 10.93 in...
- Major league baseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcherPitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
, attended the school and led the baseball program to the Junior College World Series. - Matthew BerryMatthew BerryMatthew Berry is an ESPN fantasy sports analyst and ESPN.com columnist. He writes under the nickname "the Talented Mr. Roto," or "TMR". Berry currently works as ESPN's senior director of fantasy sports.-Hollywood writer:...
, current writer for ESPN.com and senior director of fantasy sports of ESPN. - Michael FedeleMichael FedeleMichael Fedele is an Italian-American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 107thThe State of Connecticut recognizes Michael Fedele as the 107th Lieutenant Governor, using a standard that had counted Colonial period lieutenants as well as counting lieutenants who had...
, Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. - Richard Moccia, Mayor of Norwalk, graduated in 1970.
- Dave RacanielloDave RacanielloDave Racaniello has been the bullpen catcher for the New York Mets since 2001. He was a college teammate of pitcher Erik Bedard at Norwalk Community College and also played for Central Connecticut State University team. He is known to be one of All-Star third baseman David Wright's best friends on...
- bullpen catcher for the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
.