# Centralia College

Centralia College is a public community college in Centralia, Washington. Although it primarily offers certificates and Associate degrees, it also offers a few Bachelor's degrees. Founded in 1925, Centralia is the oldest continuously operating community college in the state of Washington. The college sits on 29 acres (120,000 m$^2$) in the middle of the town of Centralia. There is a branch education center, Centralia College East, in the town of Morton and the college offers a range of online and correspondence courses. Overall, the college serves an area of 2,409 square miles (6,240 km$^2$) in Lewis County and southern Thurston County under the administrative classification of Community College District Twelve.

## History

Centralia College opened on September 14, 1925, as the Centralia Junior College as part of an agreement between the University of Washington, Centralia Public Schools, and the Centralia School Board. It was the first junior college to open in the state and preceded the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. The college received its accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities in 1948. The first physical campus opened in 1950 with Kemp Hall. Growing from an entrance class of 15 students, as of 2009 the college has an enrollment of 4,803 students in 64 academic programs. The college is affiliated with the private Centralia College Foundation, founded in 1982 by community members, to supplement its public resources.
The college is also home to Michael Spafford's The Twelve Labors of Hercules, a series of murals commissioned in the early 1980s for the House of Representatives' chambers. From 1982 to 1987 they were covered with curtains due to their perceived (by some) sexually suggestive nature and later were placed in storage. Following a decade of negotiations, the college acquired the murals in 2002 for display in the Corbet Theatre. Murals created by Alden Mason and originally displayed at the Capitol were moved to the college library in 1990.

## Academics

In 2012 the college began offering a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management degree. It now offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Diesel Technology degree and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Science and Application Development degree.

## Campus

In 2023, the college, in partnership with Collegiate Housing International (CHI), completed an off-campus student apartment complex providing affordable accommodations for students in part due to the ongoing housing crisis. The dormitory complex can house up to 110 students. With an occupancy of 8 people per living quarters, each unit shares a common room and is pre-furnished. The following year, the complex was begun to be used as limited and temporary housing for Centralia high school students who are homeless. The project, named Scholars Haven, enrolls the students into the college's Running Start program.

### Artworks

The campus contains several murals including works by Alden Mason and Robert Calvo. The mural collection, Twelve Labors of Hercules, by the artist William Spafford that was created in the 1980s for the Washington State Capitol but removed due to complaints, resides at the college. A mural in Washington Hall features Merce Cunningham, a dancer and choreographer from Centralia.

## Athletics

The college's mascot is the Trailblazer and the athletics program includes teams for women's volleyball, men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's fast pitch softball and women's golf. These teams play in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).
The college is home to a sports complex known as Bob Peters Field. The site, begun in 1999 through the purchasing of neighborhood lots, was declared completed in 2023 after an official groundbreaking the prior year. The complex was named after the college's athletic director, the longest serving director in Washington state history. The athletic compound is 4.0 acres (1.6 ha) and hosts fields for baseball, softball, and soccer. Student fees of over $3 million were used for the construction of the complex.

### Extinct facilities

The college's Kirk Library was once the site of Noble Field, named after Elmer Noble, a Centralia High School graduate and World War I hero who died in action. The field temporarily contained an observation tower manned by volunteers, especially high school students, to spot incoming Japanese fighter planes during World War II. The tower was situated on top of the grandstand's press booth which contained a direct phone line to the Fort Lewis Command Center and was outfitted with blackout curtains. The grandstand was removed in 1971.

## Notable alumni and people

* Charlie Albright, pianist
* Charles L. Littel, one of the founders of the college who also founded Junior College of Bergen County
* Angela Meade, opera singer
* Patricia Anne Morton, first woman to serve as a Diplomatic Security special agent
* Jimmy Ritchey, country music songwriter and record producer
* Delford M. Smith, aviator and businessman
* Brian Valentine, American software executive