For many locals and scholars from around the country, Northwestern Michigan College is a key part of the Traverse City experience. For over five decades, it has been the marquee college in northern Michigan, offering an accessible education and adding measurable value to the local economy. From its grassroots founding to multi-campus footprint across the city, NMC is an important part of the region’s history and identity.
The Early Years of NMC
Northwestern Michigan College was founded in 1951 to provide northern Lower Peninsula residents a community college in the region. Until NMC opened its doors, students had no choice but to leave northern Michigan for East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Mount Pleasant, or other downstate college towns. This contributed to considerable brain drain and significantly reduced rural Traverse City’s labor force.
When NMC opened in 1951, its first classes were held in a borrowed building at the Cherry Capital Airport. The entire college had just 65 students and 6 staff members, but had much bigger plans.
By 1956, the school moved to its Front Street location and a sprawling 100-acre campus. In 1961, the Mark Osterlin Library opened to give the new campus its anchor, with now-iconic WNMC broadcasting in the same decade.
Read More: The History of the State Hospital in Traverse City
NMC’s Rapid Expansion and Secure Future
NMC entered 1990 with 4,000 students, signaling important growth – and need in the community. A year later, it opened the Dennos Museum Center and laid the groundwork for the University Center in 1995. The University Center immediately became the largest higher education partnership in Michigan, bringing university education and a curated selection of in-demand programs home to Traverse City.
The 90s were defined by diversification and expansion. In addition to the University Center, NMC opened a campus in Cadillac, rolled out the Michigan Technical Education Center at its Aero Park Campus (1999), and began its mission for a county millage. The first millage failed in 1989, and it would take until 1995 to get a 1.5 mil in perpetuity passed in Grand Traverse County.
At the turn of the millennium, NMC opened its Great Lakes Campus, the new home of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, and Great Lakes Culinary Institute. 2003 may have marked the zenith of NMC’s scale, however.
Cadillac Closes, University Center Turns 20
In 2004, NMC ended operations at its Cadillac campus due to a lack of support from Wexford County. Without county investment, NMC was forced to operate at a loss.
Refocusing its efforts at home, NMC offered the first Bachelor’s Degree in Maritime Technology in 2013, expanded the Dennos Museum Center in 2016, and renovated West Hall in 2017. The 2017 renovation was paired with two additional projects: a 54,000-square-foot library and learning space and a 135-bed student housing complex dubbed North Hall.
NMC Is Part of Our History
Tens of thousands of students have walked the halls of NMC, with many making Traverse City their permanent home. NMC’s development has played a vital role in retaining the area’s best and brightest while also providing no shortage of social and cultural enrichment through campus events, the Dennos Museum, and the NMC Foundation.
Donate to Traverse Regional History Center to support more storytelling and preserve our area’s rich traditions.
