Begin Here, Go Anywhere
Sampson Community College, one of the fifty-eight institutions in the North Carolina System of Community Colleges, was established in September 1965 under the provisions of Chapter 115-A of the General Statutes of North Carolina as an extension unit of Goldsboro Industrial Education Center (now Wayne Community College).
The first institutional site was one office and one classroom located in the Sampson County Board of Education Building on Rowan Road.
The institution moved from temporary offices in June 1966 to an old elementary school on Highway 421, six miles north of Clinton, and began the first curriculum programs in September of the same year. By an act of the 1967 General Assembly, the college became an independent unit and was called “Sampson Technical Institute.” The first Board of Trustees was appointed in February, 1968.
As the institution grew, the need for a new campus with modern facilities was realized. A $500,000 bond issue was approved by Sampson County voters in April 1972. A vocational storage building was occupied on the Highway 24 campus in July 1974, and the main building on this new campus, the North Building, was occupied in January 1976.
A new vocational shop building, East Building, was occupied in the fall of 1977 allowing for the expansion of several vocational programs.
In 1979, through enabling legislation by the General Assembly, the Board of Trustees approved the school’s name change to “Sampson Technical College.” The College added additional facilities in 1982 with the construction of a 6,000 sq. ft. vocational shop building on the main campus and the county’s provision of 8,000 sq ft. in the new Courthouse Annex for the Education Division. In August 1987 the college completed construction of the West Building, and began erecting a new Student Center/Adult Education Building, the South Building, which was occupied in September 1988.
In October 1987 the College changed its name to “Sampson Community College.”
The Board of Trustees approved changing the name of West Building to W.W. Kitchin Hall on August 21, 1989, and South Building to the Robert D. Warren Student Center on June 10, 1997.
Entering the New Millennium
In the fall of 1998, two new buildings, the Technology Center and Activities Center were occupied. The Occupational Building along with renovations to the East Building was completed in the fall of 2005 adding an additional 36,031 square feet to the College Campus structures.
A Frigid Expansion
In the summer of 2010, the College enrolled the first group of students in occupational classes in the Ammonia Refrigeration Training Center. The specialized shop and classroom building includes 5,000 sf of space designed to support specialized training in the use of ammonia refrigeration in the food processing industry.
Raising the Bar in Welding and Truck Driver Training
Due to expansion of our Welding program and higher demand for welders in our area, SCC officials and industry leaders broke ground on what would become a state-of-the-art welding facility. This 10,000-square-foot structure has become a beacon of opportunity in the region for employers as well as future employees. The facility opened full-time for students in August 2020.
As Truck Driver Training continued to grow in enrollment and reputation, and industry demand for drivers continued to outpace the labor force, SCC soon realized they had to increase the output of CDL drivers to fill market demand– starting with expanding their training facility and bringing it closer to home. In 2017, the Clinton 100 Committee agreed to donate 12-acres to SCC in the Industrial Park to construct a 600 X 600 training pad and classroom, providing the first permanent residence for the College’s commercial Truck Driver Training program. Scheduled for completion in February 2022.
Recently, the College was able to purchase the remaining 29-acres from the Clinton 100, who agreed to sell at the original purchase price– more than tripling the original size of the lot. Transportation Annex, home to SCC’s public Truck Driver Training school, totals 42-acres in all. The site rests in the Sampson Southeastern Business Center, also known as Clinton’s Industrial Park, serving students looking to pursue a career in transportation. A new auxiliary building is currently being built on site.
The Sampson Trades Center
Seeing the growing need for education in trades, the College began construction on a new educational facility: The Sampson Trades Center. SCC completed the Trade Building in December 2022, with training starting in Spring 2023. Anticipated programming for the Sampson Trades Center is projected to be short-term electrical, HVAC, plumbing, small engine repair, short-term home repair courses, and masonry training—though the College is remaining open-minded and flexible in their scheduling.
