Gadsden State Community College

Gadsden State Community College is a two-year institution of higher learning located in Gadsden, Anniston, and Centre, Alabama. The college's service area includes Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, and parts of St. Clair counties.

Academics
The college enrolls 8,000 students and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

History
Gadsden State Community College is a public, open-door comprehensive community college under the control of the Alabama State Board of Education. From 1925 to present, various institutions have merged to form the College as it exists today.

Initially founded in 1925, the Alabama School of Trades was the first state-operated trade school in the southern United States. In 1973, the name was changed to Alabama Technical College, and it is currently identified as the East Broad Campus of Gadsden State Community College.

The Gadsden Vocational Trade School began in 1960. In 1962 the State of Alabama assumed ownership of the school and in 1972 it was renamed Gadsden State Technical Institute. The U.S. Department of Education designated this institution as a Historically Black College (HBCU) in 1997. It is now identified as the Valley Street Campus of Gadsden State Community College.

Gadsden State Junior College was established in 1965. It is presently identified as the Wallace Drive Campus of Gadsden State Community College.

The Harry M. Ayers State Trade School was created by an act of the Alabama Legislature on May 3, 1962. Later, in 1972, the Alabama State Board of Education designated the institution as a technical college. Harry M. Ayers State Technical College is now identified as the Harry M. Ayers Campus of Gadsden State Community College.

On February 28, 1985, the Alabama State Board of Education merged Alabama Technical College, Gadsden State Technical Institute, and Gadsden State Junior College. Gadsden State Community College was formed. On July 8, 2003, the Alabama State Board of Education merged Harry M. Ayers State Technical College and Gadsden State Community College.

In addition to these campuses, Gadsden State Community College operates the McClellan Center in Anniston and Gadsden State Cherokee in Centre (Cherokee County). The College also has instructional sites at Anniston Army Depot and St. Clair Correctional Facility. The Alabama State Board of Education has designated as the College’s service area the following counties: Calhoun, Cherokee (all but northern one-sixth), Cleburne, Etowah, and St. Clair (northeastern third).

Campuses
As of 2009, the college has four campuses and two centers: the Wallace Drive Campus, the East Broad Campus, the Ayers Campus, the Valley Street Campus, the McClellan Center, and the Gadsden State Cherokee Center.

Athletics
The college fields intercollegiate teams in men's tennis, men's and women's basketball, cross country, softball, and volleyball as a member of the Alabama Community College Conference. The college's mascot is the Cardinal.