Tri-County Celebrates 60 Years In each issue of Connection throughout 2022, we will celebrate the College’s diamond anniversary through photos and fun facts to highlight the events which have shaped the College into the role model for community college education that it is today. Sixty years ago, on April 7, 1962, Tri-County Technical College made South Carolina history by becoming the first multi-county technical institute in the state. Tri-County was founded in 1962 when tri-county leaders pooled their resources to plan the College after Act 323, Section 23, of the South Carolina General Assembly established the State Committee for Technical Education and provided for the establishment of regional centers. Governor Ernest (Fritz) Hollings signed Act 905 of the General Assembly on April 7, 1962, creating what would eventually become Tri-County Technical College. Tri-County Technical Education Center opened its doors September 10, 1963, and attracted 919 students during its first year of operation. W.T. (Bill) Yarborough was hired as the first executive director. The curricula included Electronics Technology, Machine Shop, Welding, Air Conditioning, Automotive Mechanics, Drafting and Design, Chemical Technology, Industrial Technology, Textile Technology, Industrial Electricity, and other engineering technologies. The facility housed a canteen, a library, machine shop, electronics lab, and auto mechanics shop. Over the next eight years, Yarborough would lead the institution’s growth from one building and 919 students to three structures and more than 1,600 students. Under the leadership of Yarborough, the College added two buildings, Anderson Hall in 1968 and Miller Hall in 1970. In October of 1971, Don C. Garrison of Easley was appointed executive director following the resignation (in September of 1971) of Yarborough. The College achieved a milestone the next month when it was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Upon the recommendation of the Commission on Colleges, delegates to the annual SACS convention in Miami unanimously voted December 1, 1971, to grant the College a 10-year accreditation. Through the years, Tri-County expanded its offerings with courses in allied health, human services, and college transfer courses (Associate in Arts and Sciences, now University Transfer). Tri-County was the second technical institution in the state to gain approval to offer college parallel courses after the South Carolina General Assembly enacted Act 1268 on May 25, 1972, Don C. Garrison
making it possible for technical education centers to add Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees to their programs of study. The name of the institution was changed by an act of the State Board of Technical and Comprehensive Education on April 10, 1973. Now Tri-County Technical College, the name change more clearly identified the institution as a postsecondary educational facility emphasizing technical training but offering freshman and sophomore transfer courses.
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