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Constructing Science: Building STEM at ��������

by Zachary Griffiths

��������, since its opening within Osseo High School in 1965, has always done its best to attract new students. Each year, hopeful undergraduates choose North Hennepin for its facilities, opportunities, diversity, and—among other things—quality instruction. However, a comparison between the North Hennepin of 1965 to the present, while fantastic, requires explanation. This essay will examine the growth of STEM facilities at North Hennepin from its permanent home in Brooklyn Park from 1968 to 2019.

In 1969, the Minnesota State Junior College System[1] published a study examining potential student pull, availability of other public postsecondary institutions, and appropriateness of location. North Hennepin, as well as its sister school Hennepin Technical, were plotted in this study (MN State 1972, 1). As a result, it was confirmed that North Hennepin would move to Brooklyn Park; however, the school still had to leave its paltry selection of rooms inside Osseo High first.

Surrounding its current physical boundaries were West Broadway, Kentucky Ave, Shingle Creek, and College Parkway, but before there was nothing but open potato fields. The contemporary shops, homes, and library were decades off. NHCC’s property originally consisted of eighty acres, it featured two tree lined ponds, a duo of ragged dirt parking lots and the original six, single-storied, brick buildings. These buildings consisted of the Administration, Liberal Arts, Library, General Education, Plant Services, and Campus Center; all of which were connected to, and enclosed a courtyard (Campus Map, 1986). Within those walls lurked some 18,667 students (Campus Phasing I, 1969). In those early days, the enrolled studied primarily English, math, history, business, political science, and speech. However, in the future, these areas would be passed over for business, biology, and technical majors. This half-century shift drove NHCC’s physical and scientific expansion.

Figure 1–Blueprint of NHCC

The first building project began in 1969. Creatively named the “1969 Project,” it was completed in 1975 due to having multiple phases. The goal of which was to complete new and update original buildings to accommodate the anticipated increase in enrollment (Prospectus 1968-1969). Phase I included the updates to the Library, Science, and General education buildings; these were all completed in September. The Activity building, a secondary objective of Phase I, would be opened that December. Phase II erected the fine arts building, which was to be finished in 1975 along with renovations to the Admin, Science, and Plant Services buildings (Campus Phasing II, 1969). This extra building space would serve the current and projected student count moving into the 1980’s in addition to finishing and solidifying a majority of the school.

Today, the goal of NHCC is to “engage students, change lives, and provide opportunity without limits, learning without end, and achievement beyond expectation.” This stance has hardly changed from year one. However at that time, to be blunt, the purpose of the college was to provide two years of lower-division college courses to be fully transferable to four-year institutions. Enrollment was the main concern, hence the rapid growth from 1969-75. In an attempt to keep pace with other schools, further programs began. The 1980s would see the highest concentration of STEM construction. Most notably, the Business and Nursing building—what would become CBT—was completed in 1986, along with the Career and Continuing Education building, and the Wellness Center—an addition onto the South side of the Activity building—in 1987.

The NHCC Foundation, the college’s primary external provider of scholarships and money for localized projects, started supplying STEM oriented donations. One such donation was promised support for the ambitious “bio-house” (a multi-leveled house combining a greenhouse, classrooms, and laboratories that would be partially submerged in one of the campus ponds), but it was scrapped for standalone greenhouse (Foundation: Building for the Future, 1987). They also donated a Besler color printer, a large lighted outdoor display sign to give the campus a main entrance, three laboratory microscopes, and a state of the art scanning electron microscope. At the time, this was some of the most advanced technology available to undergraduate students in the Junior College System (Annual Report, 1988). Moreover, the NHCC Foundation kindly provided the Nursing and Fitness Center—the Fitness Center being the new name for the Activity Center—with more equipment. This however would be both a curse and blessing for the already crowded nursing department, which at the time was partly in the Science building and partly on the second story of the Campus Center. The packed classrooms and lab spaces could not handle the strain of both student and equipment, so future plans started being proposed to correct this. They would be carried out in the early 1990s. Either way, the donations made by the Foundation are telling. Their attention to the growing science department shows that science was taking over.

The apex of the advancement during the 1980s seemingly came in 1986, lining up with the 20th anniversary and the opening of the Center for Business and Technology, which was the last wholly new building since 1975. In the proclamation given during the afternoon celebrations on September 28th, 1986, former Minnesota State Governor, Rudy Perpich, aptly summarized the state of affairs:

“During the past twenty years, more than 55,000 students, including 842 foreign students from 50 different countries, have been able to participate in the community college experience… and ��������’s anniversary theme—Celebrating a Generation of Excellence—is appropriate because it is a symbol of accomplishment, of being part of a society’s culture, and of the democratic ideal that opportunity through the open doors of education is available to all” (Rudy Perpich, 1986).

Clearly, the previous twenty year expansion into STEM attracted all manner of students. Yet, as capable as its facilities were, the 1990s would require mass renovation, modernization, and preparation for the digital age.

This decade-long campaign of science curriculum development culminated in the undertaking of a massive new project to create a modern science building. At the start of the 1990s, NHCC had an all-purpose science building with any related fields within it; it was operating at 120% capacity (Paul Melchior, interview; Griffiths, 2019). The solution was to swap the General Education and Science Center around. The main reason for this was the Science Center had many classroom sized labs and spaces conducive of lecture style courses. Moreover, there were hardly any preparatory or storage areas so lab work was difficult at times. Eventually, all science programs and general education courses would have to be relocated over the course of 1998-99 as the buildings were swapped. What was the General Education building received a fantastic renovation. The entire building was hollowed and completely redesigned (Paul Melchior, interview; Griffiths, 2019). Labs, workrooms, preparatory areas, and more were added to closely follow needs and desires of science faculty working alongside the architects. However, for all the good this project would do, the building renovation/swap ate up campus resources starving less scientific departments. Even then, only some science programs would be housed there, the nursing program was still struggling along in the Campus Center.

By now, the Liberal and Fine Arts buildings were closing in on their thirtieth birthday. These buildings desperately needed updates, so too for the worn second floor of the Campus Center. The Science Center-General Education building swap would, much to the annoyance of liberal arts staff, reinforce the primacy of STEM. However, this would take a bold new form as North Hennepin entered the 21st Century.

Starting in 2006, NHCC started planning the Bioscience & Health Careers Center (BHCC). When the building opened in 2014 it would be both the most modern facility on campus as well as the most functional. Although furnished similarly to the new Science building, BHCC touted a wave of new state-of-the-art equipment (Proposed Site: Bioscience and Health Careers Center, 2006). Money invested here is reflective of the changing state of education. The push for STEM in schools began in the early 2000s between the end of the Bush and start of the Obama presidencies; effectively lining up with BHCC’s planning, construction, and opening. This is significant because, during the Obama presidency (for example), the White House Science Fair began as well as the Educate to Innovate Initiative which sought to prepare 100,000 STEM teachers, boost federal investments in STEM, and expand STEM participation and diversity (Educate to Innovate, 2013). So when BHCC was conceptualized and begun, state government STEM funding provided to K-12 schools peaks and plateaus during the height of its construction (reference by chart I, ESEA Grants). Overall, it is not hard to understand why emphasis is placed on STEM, as biology department professor and former NHCC Foundation board member Paul Melchior said to me during an interview, “we’re able to do things that you couldn’t do anywhere in the world twenty years ago, and we do them with undergraduate students” (Paul Melchior, interview; Griffiths, 2019).

In conclusion, NHCC is a school that prioritizes the subjects that students want. Its attention to changing student trends has made it an attractive school to new STEM majors. It has listened and quickly replied to the national conversation regarding STEM over the years through donations, programs, and construction. This can be specifically be seen by establishing a devoted science center, and opening the Bioscience and Health Careers Center. The campus has successfully come a long way from the few rooms within a 1965 Osseo High School.

References List

Griffiths Zachary. 2019. ESEA Grants 1966-2017.

MN State Junior College System. 1972 MN State Junior College System Study and Planning
Booklet.

��������. 1968. Campus Map.

�������� Foundation. 1968. Prospectus 1968-1969.

��������. 1969. Campus Phasing I.

��������. 1969. Campus Phasing II.

��������. 1986. 20th Anniversary Brochure.  �������� Foundation. 1983. “In Partnership With thevCommunity.” Your Future Support Is Needed 8, no. 2 (1983): 14.

�������� Foundation. 1984. “Meeting the Challenge Right here in Our Community.” Plans For The Future, no. 3 (1984): 16.

�������� Foundation. 1987. “Foundation: Building for the Future.” Into the Future: A Message From The College President, no. 4 (1987): 11.

�������� Foundation. 1988. “1988 Annual Report,” Program 10, 6 (1988): 3-4.

Perpich Judy. 1986. MN State Proclamation.

Vyzralek, Frank. The Creation of a College: The history of the first 25 years of North

Hennepin Community College. Brooklyn Park: ��������,

White House: President Barack Obama. “Educate to Innovate.” Last modified 2013. .

Wold Architects. 2006. Proposed Site: Bioscience and Health Careers Center.[1] The former name of the Minnesota State College and University System (MNSCU)

Appendix

NHCC Timeline

1965School Opens within Osseo High School.

1966NHCC opens in Brooklyn Park.

1969General Instruction Building, Library, and Science buildings completed.

1975Fine Arts, Administration, and Plant Services buildings completed.

1986Career and Continuing Education building added.

1987Wellness Center added.

1998Library renovations completed. General Education and Science building swap begun.

1999General Education and Science building swap completed.

2006Bioscience and Health Career Center plans drafted

2014Bioscience and Health Career Center opened.