Hancock Prepares to Celebrate 100th Anniversary
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 -- Allan Hancock College invites the community to celebrate 100 years of serving students with a Centennial Celebration beginning this month and running through the spring 2021 semester.
To mark the college’s 100th anniversary, Hancock will celebrate its rich history and long-time commitment to changing the odds for students by hosting virtual and live events open to all members of the community throughout the 2020-21 academic year, culminating with the commencement of its 100th graduating class in May 2021.
“Hancock has a hundred-year legacy of providing a quality education to generations of students in Northern Santa Barbara County,” said Hancock Superintendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D. “We want to celebrate this achievement with our community as we look forward to continuing that important mission for the next 100 years and beyond.”
Hancock traces its roots to 1920 when the Santa Maria High School District established Santa Maria Junior College. The college’s very first class consisted of just six students. In 1954 as it experienced expanding enrollment, the college moved from the high school to Hancock Field. In July 1954, the name of the college changed to Allan Hancock College to honor Captain G. Allan Hancock, a prominent state and local community leader who donated the land and facilities of the airfield to the college.
Today, Hancock serves 20,000 students annually on California’s Central Coast and offers more than 200 degrees and certificates across a wide range of academic and career programs.
The college will officially kick off its Centennial Celebration on Sept. 23 at 10:30 a.m., when past and present college administrators, faculty, and staff will open a time capsule buried on the campus in 1995 for the college’s 75th anniversary. The virtual event will be broadcast live on social media and its Centennial webpage. Community members are encouraged to visit the AHC centennial webpage, www.hancockcollege.edu/100, for more information on additional centennial events and links to videos, podcasts, historic photos, and other exciting multimedia related to the college’s 100-year history.
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Photo Caption: A class of Hancock students at the college’s former home on the SMHS campus.
