Haywood Community College celebrates 60 years of progress, looks to many more
The Art Trail features a wire bobcat created by Josh Cote.
Lily Levin photo
As Haywood Community College celebrates its 60-year anniversary Thursday, Sept. 18, administrators are reflecting on more than a half-century of progress while looking ahead to the institution’s evolving legacy.
To celebrate the milestone, an event will be held from 2-5 p.m. in the Hemlock Building and is open to the community. HCC Foundation representatives will be available to accept donations to support the event and student needs. Speeches will begin at 2:30 p.m., with remarks from HCC President Shelley White, a few college retirees, former students, a current student and current faculty and staff.
White told The Smoky Mountain News that the college was able to include voices of people involved in the official development of the college, including early board members and faculty, in the 60-year book and video.
Both will be released at the event.
“We’re excited about sharing that with the community,” White said.
Starting at 3:45 p.m., attendees can participate in walking tours of the new campus Art Trail every 15 minutes.
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The Art Trail consists of six different works, including a mural depicting the college’s first key educational programs by Billy Smith, an artist from Western North Carolina. In the dahlia garden, the series features a 5-foot-tall dahlia by locally known sculptor Grace Cathey; in the Zen Garden, an 8-foot harmonic gong by Stefan Bonitz, the creator of downtown Waynesville’s banjo players statue.
Other pieces include a wire bobcat by Josh Cote on a bench in front of the nursing building; the Waynesville Rotary Centennial Peace Pole, which celebrates the rotary’s centennial celebration and a butterfly garden bench created by Professional Craft Wood Instructor Brian Wurst and his students.
“We offer Professional Crafts ... and we do fiber, clay, jewelry and wood,” said Executive Director of Haywood Community College Foundation Hylah Birenbaum, adding that the art pieces bring “another dimension to our Professional Crafts program.”
The Art Trail isn’t only a practical measure; it makes the college more aesthetically pleasing to members of the Haywood community.
“It gives another reason for people to come to campus,” Birenbaum said, whether that be for taking classes — or simply to walk, explore, play disc golf or take prom photos.
While the six pieces are here to stay, the college is looking to acquire more for the art trail in the years to come.
“We’re working with a new artist for next year, so hopefully we’ll have some donations, since that’s the keys to keep this going every year,” Birenbaum said.
HCC President Shelley White. File photo
White said the current director for campus development, who oversees the arboretum, had the idea to plant 60 trees on campus this year — and the college ran with it.
Michelle Harris, director of engagement and marketing at HCC, explained that students use the grounds as a laboratory, so planting more trees means creating more opportunities for academic inquiry.
It’s also about keeping the campus beautiful.
“We had some trees that we lost during Helene. And so, as a part of that replanting, they’ve identified several other areas that needed some additional tree growth,” said White.
In fact, investment in the visual aesthetic of campus was present as early as HCC’s founding in 1965.
“One of the original board members, their vision was that this location be one of the most beautifully landscaped areas within Haywood County,” White said.
This vision culminated in the 1977 establishment of the campus arboretum.
“And 60 years later, we’re still committed to [a beautifully landscaped area],” she said.
Celebrating progress, moving ahead
It all started when industrialist A. L. Freedlander donated a portion of land for Haywood Community College “in a location where it could grow and be a significant presence within the county,” White said.
Though the college officially began in 1965, it wasn’t until the early-to-mid 1970s that students and faculty began moving into the buildings on the property.
HCC acquired the Joseph H. Nanney Regional High Technology Center in 1986, where it established machining, technical and trade programs. The curriculum is consistently updated to meet the demands of modern technology.
Haywood Community College is part of the county’s rapid response network, a group of community partners providing information and resources after mass layoffs like the 2023 closure of the Canton Paper Mill.
The college is now using state funding from the paper mill closure to renovate the RHTC and upgrade and expand skilled trade programs like electrical and welding, machining and industrial systems.
HCC will be opening the Workforce Outdoor Training Center within the next year, offering CDL truck driver and electrical line worker training.
“Those programs have not been accessible in the further west [of North Carolina], and we’re excited to bring those to this region,” White said.
“We just launched three new programs this past fall,” Harris said, “and again, being able to say, ‘What are the needs? How can we meet them?’”
White told SMN that establishing a tuition-free guarantee program was another future-focused move on behalf of the college. In 2019, HCC began offering free tuition to any Haywood County resident high school graduates with a qualifying high school GPA and HCC credit enrollment hours.
“They were one of the first foundations in the state to do that. Other programs have followed, and there’s been statewide programs that have come to fruition,” she said.
After enrolling in a second Haywood Community College semester, a student may apply to the Lavender Fund, which helps with non-hurricane related student emergencies such as rent, childcare and groceries.
“It’s a one-time emergency fund just to get them over that hump,” Birenbaum said, adding that the fund is available once per year on a case-by-case basis.
In general, the maximum amount given to any student is $1,000, though exceptions can be made due to rising inflation.
“Two years ago, [the ask for Lavender funds] was about $16,000 and last year it was close to 50,000 ... I don’t know if there’s more exposure ... or more need. A blend of both? Probably,” Birenbaum said.
“Our goal is to raise a million dollars [for the Lavender Fund] to help with that,” she added.
As for Helene-related emergency needs, the college has a separate fund entirely.
When the storm hit, “although we were closed to our students for two weeks, we were able to be a resource for the community,” White recounted.
HCC qualified for FEMA assistance based on minor damage it had sustained from Helene: a few fallen trees and a large storm drain in need of repair.
The part of campus that hadn’t lost internet and power temporarily hosted community agencies and an engineering business assisting with storm recovery. The college offered its showers, laundry rooms, water and food to any employee or student.
“A lot of our students are non-traditional, so they’re 25-age plus, and they might not have a lot of family support,” Birenbaum said.
