Looking Back: 2010-2025

Mark Best is named the NC Community College System Staff Person of the Year.

The Craven CC Foundation’s inaugural Community Fabric Awards event is held in April.

The first cohort of Mechanical Engineering Systems students in the NC State Engineering – Havelock program graduate in May.

Students in Craven’s first Barbering Concepts program graduate.

The College celebrates its 50th anniversary on July 1 with the theme, “The Beat Goes On.”

Dr. Ray Staats becomes the College’s fifth president on July 20.

The renovated Godwin Memorial Library & Testing Center opens on the second floor of Barker Hall on the New Bern campus.

Veterans Memorial Park is dedicated on the Havelock campus on Nov. 9.

Hurricane Florence makes landfall Sept. 14, causing catastrophic damage throughout the region. The College is closed for three weeks as students, faculty, staff, and the community begin recovery efforts.

The renovated Student Services “First Stop” opens in Barker Hall in March.

The Volt Center, Craven’s first campus dedicated to workforce development training, opens its first building in May, and the first classes begin.

The STEM Center is dedicated as the fourth building on the Havelock campus in January.

Craven CC closes for two weeks beginning March 14 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Curriculum courses transition to online classes for the rest of the semester.

The College conducts the 2020 and 2021 Commencement exercises as “drive-through” events during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Small Business Center relocates from the New Bern campus to the Volt Center.

The College opens the Diesel Garage and Law Enforcement Simulator buildings at the Volt Center.

Greg Singleton, director of community workforce development, is named the NC Community College System Staff Person of the Year.

Craven’s Associate Degree in Nursing and Practical Nursing programs are accredited by the National League for Nursing, Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation.

The Volt Center Kitchen opens in August.

The Student Center is dedicated in February as “Ward Hall” in honor of David L. Ward, Jr.’s 52 years of service as the College’s first General Counsel.

The Craven County Commission and the College sign 40-year lease of 30 acres at the Craven Industrial Park for a new Public Safety Training Center campus.

The NC General Assembly’s biennial budget includes a $12 million special allocation to fund initial construction. The Associate Degree in Nursing program admits the first spring cohort, doubling the program’s student capacity.

The Business & Information Technology building is dedicated as “Bate Hall” on Feb. 20 in honor of the Harold H. Bate Foundation’s generosity over the past 30 years.

The Small Business Center Generator and Heavy Equipment Operations buildings open at the Volt Center.

The NC State Engineering – Havelock program enrolls the first cohort of Electrical Engineering Systems students for the fall semester.

The College’s 60th Anniversary “Deep Roots, Strong Future” celebration will culminate on July 1.