History

Grand Rapids Junior College was set up on September 21, 1914, after teachers at the University of Michigan decided to create junior colleges in Michigan. It was the first junior college in the state. The college used Central High School as its home until 1924. The classes offered, which were based on courses at the University of Michigan, included mathematics, history, writing, German, Latin, biology, and physics. All classes were designed to help students move on to college. The first group of students who graduated had 49 people, and they paid $60 each year for their classes. The next year, the cost was lowered to $40 for people living in Grand Rapids and $50 for those who did not live there to help more students join. In 1918, Grand Rapids Junior College got official approval from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

In 1944, the college bought the Main Building from Grand Rapids Public Schools. The school system’s leader, Arthur W. Krause, closed Davis Technical High School to save money and gave the building to the college. In March 2019, the Main Building was renamed Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall.

In 1990, people in Grand Rapids voted to separate the Junior College from the public school system. In 1991, the college changed its name to Grand Rapids Community College.

Campuses

Grand Rapids Community College has several campuses spread out across West Michigan. The main campus is in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Downtown campuses include the Main Campus and DeVos Campus. These campuses are near the Grand Rapids Medical Mile and Heritage Hill Historic District.

Because it is in downtown Grand Rapids, GRCC is close to local festivals and art shows, such as ArtPrize and Festival of the Arts.

In addition to the main campus, Grand Rapids Community College also has the GRCC Lakeshore Campus in Holland, Michigan, located at 12335 James St, Holland, inside the Shops at West Shore. Another campus is the Leslie Tassell MTEC, which offers career training programs. The Phyllis Fratzke Early Childhood Learning Laboratory provides daycare and early childhood programs.

Facilities

GRCC's downtown campus covers 11 blocks and has many buildings. These include the historic Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall, the Library and Learning Resource Center, Spectrum Theater, the Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center, the Alfred P. Smith Music Building, the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse with a natatorium, the Student Center, the Calkins Science Center, and the Cook Academic Building, which houses many of the college's health careers programs. The Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center includes The Heritage Restaurant, Fountain Hill Brewery, and the Secchia Piazza, all part of the college's Secchia Institute for Culinary Education. College Park Plaza contains faculty offices and the Communications Department. The Juan R. Olivarez Student Plaza is named after the former president—the first Hispanic college president in Michigan—and features a lion head fountain and a veterans memorial. The DeVos Campus, located at 415 Fulton Street E., includes the Administration Building, Stewart White Hall, Sneden Hall, Steven C. Ender Hall, and the Custer Alumni House.

Athletics

Grand Rapids Community College's athletic teams are called the Raiders. They compete in men's baseball, basketball, golf, and cross country, and in women's basketball, softball, cross country, and volleyball. A men's and women's soccer program will begin in fall 2023. The college's teams join other schools in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA). GRCC has won 70 MCCAA titles and received the MCCAA All-sports Trophy 16 times.

GRCC is part of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The college has won many NJCAA championships in different areas and has competed in national tournaments multiple times. The baseball team has won five NJCAA tournaments, and the school has been a national runner-up five times in five different sports. The Raiders' football team was named the non-scholarship team national champion by the NJCAA in 2005 and 2009. The football team played in national championship games in 1956, 1988, and 2005, and has participated in 10 other bowl games.

In the past, GRCC offered sports such as men's cross country, swimming and diving, track and field, tennis, and wrestling, and women's swimming and diving and tennis. The college stopped its football team in January 2012.

Notable alumni

• Garrett Børns – Musician
• Russell Christopher – Singer who performs in the Metropolitan Opera
• Ed Cole – Top leader at General Motors
• Edward Fenlon – Representative in the state of Michigan
• Lawrence J. Fuller – U.S. Army major general who helps lead the Defense Intelligence Agency
• Arnold Gingrich – Helped start Esquire magazine
• John A. Hannah – Led Michigan State University and managed the United States Agency for International Development
• Scott S. Haraburda – U.S. Army colonel and leader of the Indiana Society of Professional Engineers
• Bill Hardiman – Senator in the state of Michigan
• David Robert Mullen – Artist and photographer who has won awards
• Steve Pestka – Representative in the state of Michigan
• Dave Rozema – Baseball player in Major League Baseball
• Michael Sak – Representative in the state of Michigan
• Sekou Smith – Journalist and NBA analyst who has won awards
• K. William Stinson – Representative in the U.S. Congress
• Rodney Vaccaro – Screenwriter who has won an Emmy award
• Daniel Vosovic – Designer of clothing and a contestant on Project Runway
• Elizabeth Wilson – Actress who has won a Tony award
• Lumen Martin Winter – Artist who creates murals, sculptures, paintings, and mosaics