| Connecticut State Community College Housatonic | |
| Former Name: | Housatonic Community College (1967-2023) |
| Established: | October 1967 |
| Faculty: | >150[1] |
| Students: | 5,369 (Fall 2014)[2] |
| Country: | United States |
| Colors: | █ Blue █ White |
| Mascot: | Hawk |
| Website: | www.housatonic.edu |
| Head Label: | Chief Executive Officer |
| Head: | Dwayne Smith, Ph.D. |
Housatonic Community College (HCC) was a public community college in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It part of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. HCC grants associate degrees and also has certificate programs.[3] In July 2023, it became Connecticut State Community College Housatonic, as part of a merger of twelve institutions.
In 1997, the Housatonic Community College moved to its present site.[4] The first building on campus was Lafayette Hall, which currently hosts most of the college's STEM programs. In August 2017, construction was completed on a large expansion of the building,[5] which now houses almost all of the school's administrative offices and student services (previously located in the original building), including admissions, advising, and the bursar's office.
In fall 2008, HCC added a new building, Beacon Hall. This structure consists of 174,000 gross square feet[6] and is 3 floors high. Beacon Hall became the home to a new enlarged bookstore, a computer lab, and several new classrooms.
The Housatonic Museum of Art is located on campus, with works displayed throughout the college and in the Burt Chernow Galleries. There are over 4,500 works in the collection[7] and over 1,700 displayed throughout campus buildings.[8] Burt Chernow was a former art historian, writer, and an art teacher in the Westport, CT school system. In 1997, Chernow died of a heart attack while employed as a professor at Housatonic.[9]
Chi Rho is a chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa, an academic honor society for two-year colleges. The college also has an honors program,[10] a chapter of Alpha Beta Gamma, the International Business Honor Society and a chapter of Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community colleges.[11]