By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — Henry Ford Community College will have its first name change in 62 years.
By unanimous vote of the HFCC Board of Trustees, the institution will become Henry Ford College with an official unveiling of the change expected to come next month at either the college’s commencement ceremony or the 75th Anniversary Gala, both of which are scheduled for May 10.
The decision was made at the board’s April 21 meeting.
HFCC Executive Director of Research Becky Chadwick said now is a good time for the college to change its name because it is looking into offering four-year degrees and because new signage and branding is being created.
“We are embarking on our next 75 years as an educational institution,” Chadwick said. “The time is right to move forward and change our name.”
Board Chairman Hussein Berry said after the vote that he has not received any negative feedback regarding the name change from community members he has spoken with.
“I think we have the support of the community with this,” Berry said.
Henry Ford College will be the fifth name for the institution, which was originally named Fordson Junior College when it was opened in 1938. It became Dearborn Junior College in 1946 and after the merging of DJC with the Henry Ford Trade School became HFCC in 1952.
The board also voted unanimously to approve new mission, vision and values for the college which also were introduced last month.
The new mission will replace the one that was created by the college in 1987 while the vision will be changed to “First choice. Best choice.”
The values describe how the institution works to instill passion, integrity, ingenuity and respect in students.
Chadwick said the college’s mission statement and supporting documents are the “cornerstone for all college activities” and describe the purpose of the institution.
She said surveys were administered to faculty, administrators, students, advisory committee members and members of the community and that the results were “overwhelmingly” positive with about 81 percent supporting the proposed mission and vision and 91 percent supporting the values.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)