Origins53MVCC
1946
A student body shaped by World War II
More than two-thirds of MVCC’s first 53 students were returning veterans.
Read the storyEighty years of possibility
A college.
A community.
A shared story.
Since 1946, generations have found their next chapter at MVCC. Celebrate the people, places, and moments that made us—and the Mohawk Valley—who we are.
Explore our 80 years Utica & Rome, New York · 1946–2026Then. Now. Always MVCC.
Big history.
Human-sized stories.
A borrowed schoolhouse. A student-built radio station. A championship season. A jet that became a classroom.
Our history lives in the extraordinary milestones—and the everyday moments between them. Find a familiar face, revisit a favorite decade, or discover a part of MVCC you never knew.
Remember college lifeThe story keeps growing
Find your decade.
Start at the beginning, jump to your years, or follow whatever sparks your curiosity.
1946–49
10 storiesA small school. A big beginning.
A postwar classroom brings veterans and school-leavers together, opening a new path for the Mohawk Valley.
1946
Country Day School becomes a college
A renovated schoolhouse on Genesee Street in New Hartford became the College’s first home.
Read the storyOrigins$0MVCC
1946
Free tuition for New York residents
New York residents could attend the new Institute without paying tuition in 1946; out-of-state tuition was $300.
Read the storyOrigins1946MVCC
1946
Paul B. Richardson leads the new Institute
Paul B.
Read the storyOrigins1946MVCC
October 14, 1946
MVCC is founded
The New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences at Utica was founded on October 14, 1946.
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October 15, 1946
First day of classes
On October 15, 1946, eleven faculty members welcomed 53 students to the first classes.
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1947
Mechanical Technology begins with 12 students
Mechanical Technology began in 1947 with twelve students and one machine-tools laboratory.
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1947
Technical division moves downtown
Mechanical and Electrical Technology moved into the Munro Building on State Street in 1947.
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1948
First graduates cross the stage
The Institute celebrated 71 graduates in 1948: 32 in June, 31 in September, and eight in December.
Read the story1948
Technical programs move into a former cotton mill
In 1948, mechanical, electrical, and textile instruction expanded into the former Utica Steam Cotton Mill.
Read the storyThe moments that stay with you
More than classes.
College life.
The clubs we joined. The teams we cheered. The friendships and ideas we carried into the world.
Some of the best parts of college never appeared on a syllabus.
A campus with a vision
Built for learning.
Designed to belong.
In 1960, MVTI moved into a purpose-built campus on Sherman Drive. Architect Edward Durell Stone’s design gave teaching, athletics, and student life a new home.
Step inside the photographs, drawings, and dedication pages that tell the campus story—from the first plans to the spaces students made their own.
From the Edward Durell Stone PapersUniversity of Arkansas Libraries, Special Collections
Rooted here. Reaching forward.
Two cities.
One shared purpose.
From Sherman Drive to Floyd Avenue and Griffiss, MVCC’s story is woven into the places where the Mohawk Valley lives and works.
Floyd Avenue · 2017
A former hospital site becomes a campus built for new possibilities.
Griffiss · 2006
At Griffiss, a full-size Boeing 727 brings hands-on learning to a new scale.
The people behind the milestones
Every chapter
starts with someone.
Students who spoke up. Faculty who opened doors. Neighbors who invested in a future bigger than themselves.
1946 was just the beginning.
Eighty years strong.
And still becoming.
To every student, graduate, educator, teammate, and neighbor who helped shape MVCC: this story is yours, too.