Background on SSCC

Southern State Community College (SSCC) was chartered in February 1975 as Southern State General and Technical College, to serve Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette, and Highland Counties. In April of 1975, the University of Cincinnati’s Board of Trustees indicated its support of the college district which encompassed UC’s Tri-County Academic Center at Macon. In 1977, the name of the College was officially changed to Southern State Community College.

A new South Campus facility opened in Brown County for academic year 1976-77, and former Clinton County Air Force base buildings were renovated for use as the North Campus near Wilmington.

In March of 1981 another milestone was reached when the administrative offices for the college were moved from their North Campus location to a new 4,000-square-foot facility in Hillsboro. 

September of 1981 saw the beginning of the College’s Practical Nursing Program and in 1985 the College’s largest facility, the Central Campus in Hillsboro, opened for autumn quarter. Central Campus houses the technology programs and related general studies courses. This campus, completed in Southern State’s tenth anniversary year, is a tribute to the first decade as well as a tangible framework for progress into the future.

In 1986, the Associate of Applied Science in Nursing Program (RN) was added, a highly successful program which has been state-recognized for excellence. Both nursing programs are now housed in a health technologies wing, which was added to Central Campus for academic year 1994-95 as part of our twentieth anniversary year. Located on the south side of the main campus, it is directly opposite an agriculture wing which was constructed in 1990. 

The Appalachian Gateway Center opened on the South Campus in September, 1999. The Center serves as a focal point for the community with a focus on cultural and educational programs relating to Appalachian culture. Also in 1999, a new 19,000-square-foot facility was opened in Fayette County. Previously known as the Great Oaks Equine Center, the Fayette Campus was constructed to serve the students in the northern quadrant of the College’s service area. In May 2000, the College opened its newest facility in Wilmington, a 35,000-square-foot campus designed to meet the needs of our growing student population in that area.

In March of 2005 the College added a new 25,000- square-foot multipurpose center to the College’s Central Campus landscape. This 2500-seat-capacity building was erected to serve a variety of needs within the College and its surrounding community.  Appropriately named the Patriot Center, this facility allows the College to host its athletic venue as well as graduation, expos, concerts, guest speakers, college fairs, and numerous other activities.

In May of 2006, following a comprehensive self-study and the evaluation of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, SSCC was granted accreditation by the association. Since that time, accreditation has continued with the next evaluation visit scheduled for academic year 2015-2016.

Southern State was one of the first community colleges in the state to develop an accredited transfer program, and many of our students earn the first two years of a bachelor’s degree and transfer to four-year colleges and universities in Ohio and beyond. Along with the transfer program, SSCC offers associate degrees in five different areas of study in applied business, nineteen in applied science, the Associate of Technical Studies degree, and seven certificate programs - Practical Nursing, Office Services, Data-Information Processing, Horticulture, Medical Transcription, Phlebotomy, and Pharmacy Technician.

The fourth president of the College, Sherry A. Stout, began her term in February 2007. She was proceded by Dr. Lewis Miller (1975-1988), Dr. George McCormick (1989-1994), and Dr. Lawrence N. Dukes (1995-2007).