History

County College of Morris (CCM) is located on 222 acres of rolling terrain in Randolph. The college first opened its doors to students in 1968 after Henderson Hall, the first building on campus, was completed. The first class consisted of 592 full-time and 703 part-time students. Enrollment grew quickly, and by the fall of 1969 five additional buildings were under way: the library, later named the Sherman H. Masten Learning Resource Center after CCM’s first president; Sheffield Hall; the Physical Education Building; the Student Community Center and a service building; all completed by 1970.

In the fall of 1973, two additional academic buildings, Cohen and DeMare halls, along with a planetarium, were completed. Through the 1970s, enrollment at the college continued to grow as CCM established itself as one of the premier community colleges in New Jersey. In 1982, the college reached its highest enrollment of 12,012 credit students, with thousands of additional individuals enrolled in certificate programs. That same year the Dalrymple House was renovated.

After two decades of leadership, President Masten retired in 1986 and Dr. Edward J. Yaw became the second president of CCM. Under his leadership, the college continued to grow. In 1989, Emeriti Hall was added and in May 1993 the college completed a 20,000 square-foot expansion of the library. The expansion contained television and audio production studios, additional library seating areas and a 45-seat conference room.

Expansion of the campus continued in 1994 with the construction of two additions that joined the three academic buildings. The 20,417 square-foot expansion added classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, student lounges and an expanded cafeteria. In 1997, the college added a six-lane aquatic facility to the Health and Physical Education Building that is used by the college and local high schools.

In 2004, the college broke ground for the renovation and expansion of the Student Community Center. By the Fall 2005 Semester, the building was open for students to enjoy. All enrollment and counseling functions were brought together in that facility including Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Advisement, the Bursar and Counseling. The project also included an expanded campus store, renovated auditorium, cafeteria, game room and television lounge. One more exciting feature included a teaching kitchen, plus a dining/conference room for the Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts Program.

The 2008-09 academic year was also marked by more renovations. Many parking lots, sidewalks, stairs and athletic fields were renovated. In addition, nursing laboratories were renovated along with major renovations to the interior and exterior of Emeriti Hall. During the 2010-11 academic year, the Academic Complex underwent a major renovation including the installation of energy-efficient lighting. That year the college also started construction of a new Landscape and Horticultural Technology building as its first LEED certified building. Included among the building’s many green features are geothermal heating and cooling, photovoltaic roof panels, and a vegetated flat roof and rain collection system.

Building upon the college’s sustainability efforts, the Morris County Improvement Authority in 2012 installed solar panels over Parking Lots 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and on the rooftop of the Student Community Center. New exterior energy-efficient lighting also was installed by the college throughout the campus.

Also in 2012, the college purchased a one-story commercial building on Route 10 in Randolph as its first major expansion in nearly four decades. The 15,500 square-foot building located at 675 Route 10 East provided much needed space for Public Safety and for a new access road to and from Route 10.

In 2014, the college completed an extensive renovation to the Masten Learning Resource Center (LRC), which included consolidating the library on the second floor, a major expansion of the college’s gallery and the addition of a café. Also in 2014, Rutgers entered into a partnership with the college to offer bachelor degree programs on the CCM campus.

In 2015, the Media Center, located within the LRC, was renovated and renamed in honor of late Assemblyman Alex DeCroce. That renovation was funded with $1 million from the Morris County Board of Commissioners’ capital budget and $900,000 raised by the CCM Foundation in individual, corporate, private foundation and public support.

In early 2016, the college opened its Music Technology Center, a state-of-the-art facility that houses the digital media technology, drama, media technology, music and music recording academic programs. The facility includes an experimental theater lab – theater in-the-round – that serves as a large hands-on classroom with a recording studio. Also included are two standard classrooms, an electronic music/aural comprehension classroom and piano lab, a second recording studio, scene shop, dressing rooms and multiple student practice rooms. The $8.5 million facility was constructed with funds provided through the Building Our Future Bond Act that was approved by New Jersey voters in 2012. The building was named in honor of Yaw, who retired in 2016 after serving as president for 30 years. Dr. Anthony J. Iacono became the college’s third president.

In 2017, the college became the first community college in New Jersey to gain designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.

In 2018, as part of the college’s 50th anniversary celebrations, CCM launched a historic $2.1 million FORWARD Capital Campaign focused on funding programs and facility upgrades, including a Cyber Security Suite, an enhanced Culinary Arts Training facility, a new Manufacturing and Engineering building, student scholarships and the Faculty Innovation Fund. Also in 2018, the college developed two new academic programs in animation and virtual reality to meet the demand for employees in these rapidly growing areas.

In 2020 -- during the COVID pandemic -- a new building was completed, the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center, and opened with a virtual celebration.

In 2023, the college constructed the Paragano Family Foundation Healthcare Simulation Center. With a leadership gift from the foundation and a total of $457,000 raised for the project, the center will train Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Radiography, Drug Counseling and other healthcare professionals in a contextual learning environment reflective of today’s hospitals. Clinical scenarios will be offered in pediatrics, critical care, emergency room, labor and delivery, and more.

Looking ahead, the college, in partnership with the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, will be constructing an Entrepreneurship and Culinary Science Center on campus to enhance and support innovation in the region. The Morris County Vocational School District additionally will be building a Career and Technical Education Center at the college for high school students to take part in shared time programs with CCM to gain the knowledge and skills to pursue in-demand career, while earning college credit.