In just a few months—on Sept. 9, 2010, to be exact—Saint Paul College will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this special event, the college will hold a grand reunion — an open house for its community of students, graduates, neighbors, friends, and supporters.
The College has deep roots in the local community. It was “born” in 1910 as a fee-based manual training school founded by the Saint Paul Builders Exchange and operated under the auspices of the Saint Paul Institute. Over the last century, the institution has operated under various names and at various locations.
After World War I, Saint Paul Vocational High School became the official name, and it began operating as a separate entity of the Saint Paul Public Schools system. By 1945, legislation created the state's AVTI (Area Vocational-Technical Institutes) system and Saint Paul Technical Vocational Institute, or "TVI," for short, operated until 1987 when titles of all Minnesota technical institutes were changed, again, leaving out the word “vocational.” The school was then known as St. Paul “TI” until 1989 when it came under the direction of Minnesota's Technical College System and was renamed St. Paul Technical College.
In 1995, as part of a restructuring of the state’s public higher education system, St. Paul Technical College became part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. And in 2002, we added a new mission—to provide a two-year, baccalaureate transfer program. That change led to our current name and role: Saint Paul College—A Community & Technical College.
President Donovan Schwichtenberg, PhD
Above: Saint Paul Vocational School Picnic, Phalen Park, June 8, 1931.
President Donovan Schwichtenberg, PhD