History

Federal City College grew out of a John F. Kennedy administration review of higher education in the nation’s capital.  According to the University of the District of Columbia website, The Chase Commission “found a definite and compelling need for public higher education in the District of Columbia. There was a demand for instruction that was affordable, and there was an over whelming desire for learning that would enable residents to participate fully in the unique life of the city.”  Congress passed the Public Education Act in 1966, creating two new colleges—Washington Technical Institute and Federal City College-- “to serve the needs of the community by directing the resources and knowledge gained through education toward the solution to urban problems.” Federal City College opened its doors in 1968.  More than 6,000 persons applied for the 2,400 available places, so that admission was determined by lottery.  Awarded land-grant status, F.C.C. was accredited in 1974.  Enrollment reached 4,500.

But among articles decrying the problems of an open-enrollment urban college, the LA Times—Washington Post News Service (January 3, 1970) reported that there was a remarkable surge in interest in art among F.C.C. students.  With limited resources (three pianos for 75 piano students and a converted warehouse for an art center, for example) enrollment had tripled in art and music courses.  The article noted that the members of the F.C.C. concert band had received the formal training that allowed them to form the top dance and rock bands in the area.

After only ten years of existence, Federal City College was combined with District of Columbia Teachers College and Washington Technical Institute to form a single university unit called University of the District of Columbia., which opened in the fall of 1978