| Summary: | Southern Union State Community College began its institutional life as Bethlehem College on June 2, 1922. John M. Hodge, a Wadley banker, donated forty acres to the Southern Christian Convention of Congregational Christian Churches as a site for the campus. From 1923 to 1964, Bethlehem College remained under religious auspices, operating as Piedmont Junior College (1928-1929), Southern Union College (1930-1933), and The Southern Union College (1933-1964). On October 1, 1964, the State of Alabama took possession of Southern Union State Junior College, which became part of a new organization of two-year colleges under the governance of the Alabama State Board of Education. The Alabama State Legislature created Opelika State Technical College in 1963 in order to fill a vocational and technical educational niche in one of Alabama’s heavily industrialized areas. The Lee County Commission donated 63 acres for Opelika State Technical College’s campus, and the college opened on January 10, 1966. Robert Brown served as its first president, heading the technical college until 1992. On August 11, 1994, the Alabama Board of Education decided to assimilate Southern Union State Junior Colleges three campuses in Wadley, Valley, and Opelika, with Opelika State Technical College in Opelika. The community college still operates on campuses in Wadley, Valley, and Opelika.
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