CNCC celebrates 50 years of higher education

RANGELY I At Colorado Northwestern Community College’s 50th anniversary rededication ceremony held last Saturday on the Rangely campus, it was said the whole community showed up in support of the first graduating classes back in 1964 and 1965 and many of those graduates, along with then CNCC president Dr. Nathan Ivey and coach/instructor Lee Vickers returned for the rededication celebration.
Dr. Ivey, who just turned 85 and still works three days a week at the University of Texas in Dallas, was the keynote speaker and recalled coming to Rangely in the summer of 1963.
“There were no trees, lots of rocks and eight brand new buildings,” Dr. Ivey said. “People were extremely proud. I called it an oasis on the mesa.”
The CNCC challenge course was dedicated to the school and community and a demonstration by Judy Allred, CNCC rodeo coach Jed Moore and current students was given before lunch was served.
Current CNCC President Russell George welcomed guests and introduced speakers, including Colorado Congressman Scott Tipton, who read the speech, and Congressman Wayne Aspinall, who read the original dedication held 50 years prior, to the day and hour.
“I am pleased with the turn-out and all parts of the event,” George said. “The program speeches were each very elegant in the threads of our past and our present that each speaker was there to discuss.”
Teri Wilczek, chair of the Rangely Junior College District, gave a humorous speech about growing up in Rangely, when the college first opened and later attending CNCC as a “non-traditional” student.
Former CNCC president Dr. Robert Anderson also spoke and current Rangely school board president Adair Norman thanked the college for their cooperation with the dual enrollment program and presented items for the time capsule, which will be sealed at a later date.
“As it always is at the campus, the real story of the day is the students,” George said. “Our current students who attended and who helped out added youthful fun and energy. Our returning students who represented many of the earlier classes in our past 50 years were excited to be there and to see one another and their favorite instructors and administrators who had also returned for the day. Many had not been back to the campus for decades, their exuberance infected the rest of us, their stories and their successes in life show us what this college is all about and reassure us that our past provides a solid foundation for a bright 50 years to come.”