Free, family events planned April 30 at Cambridge Campus
Six hundred freshly minted high school graduates eager to embark on a journey toward higher education formed the inaugural Anoka-Ramsey Community College student body. The year was 1965. The campus was tucked inside a wing of Centennial High School in Circle Pines. The school was called Metropolitan State Junior College.
Dr. Emil Wilken served as president during those early college years, and as he predicted, “If a community college is available, people will use it.”
In fact, during the past half-century, the educational institution has evolved and grown, firmly rooted on two campuses and educating nearly a quarter-million students along the way.
People do, indeed, “use it.”
They use it to earn two-year Associate of Arts degrees. They use it as a stepping stone to transfer to a four-year college. They use it to study business, computer science, engineering, nursing and psychology. They also can choose from eight bachelor’s degrees on campus.
With its unique alignment with Anoka Technical College, Anoka-Ramsey and Anoka Tech became the largest aligned-entity institution in the state.
“We’re a pretty big player in education,” Anoka-Ramsey Community College President Kent Hanson said.
A 50th anniversary 5K Family Fun Run-Walk will be held Saturday, 
April 30, at the Cambridge Campus, 300 Spirit River Drive S.
The event is free and open to the community. Register to run or walk by visiting the first item in the “Events” section at AnokaRamsey.edu or go to https://tinyurl.com/ARCC5k. Race check-in will begin at 8 a.m. with the family-friendly 5K (3.1 miles) chip time run-walk race starting at 10 a.m. Runners will kick off the event with walkers following. Top finishers will receive a prize.
While the event is free, scholarship donations are welcome. If you choose to donate, 100 percent of your donation will go to the student scholarship fund. See the donation link at registration checkout when registering online or in person on the day of the event. The foundation will accept donations either by credit card or in cash. College advisers will be available to help answer questions about the college and campus tours will be conducted.
In addition to the race, other on-site activities include a MANE Student Nursing Health Fair: “Spring into Health with ARCC,” from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the sixth annual Earth Friendly Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
According to Diane Sibley-Anderson, foundation member, “there is something for everyone from kids to grandparents.” The MANE Student Nursing Health Fair will include various health-related exhibits for prenatal to geriatrics, children’s activities and checking vitals. There will also be a fire truck for people to view and a Life Link helicopter will be on site at 1 p.m. Students from the physical therapy assistant program will conduct massages.
The Earth Friendly Fair will host exhibits, children’s activities — kite flying, a 50-yard dash and a scavenger hunt — a presentation by Dr. Teresa Jentzsch on “Chemistry Magic” and a thrift store fashion show.
The April 30 events will conclude the college’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration. For more information about public events at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, visit AnokaRamsey.edu.
The president describes the college as one with a rare and unwavering personality.
“There’s something special about this campus,” said Hanson, who has worked in the MnSCU (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities) system for 24 years. “There’s excitement in the air at Anoka-Ramsey and it’s real solid. Really, truly, Anoka-Ramsey is built on such a strong foundation. It’s a good, solid college all through: the finances, the facility, the people. It’s one of the finest in the state.”
A particularly unique opportunity at Anoka-Ramsey are avenues offered there for students to work with industry and higher education partners and participate in undergraduate research in science. The race route on April 30 will take participants past the biofuel field in which students conduct research for a class held at the college and partnered with the University of Minnesota.
“This is hands-on learning at its finest and it happens right here,” Hanson said. “We are committed to expanding that opportunity for our students.”
Further looking toward the future, Hanson said: “Part of the celebration of our 50-year anniversary is to look to a great future. Part of our great future is enhancing what we already have.”
In addition, students sometimes visit the Anoka-Ramsey campus to participate in early college campus activities there.
“We have one of the best high school partnerships in the state where students can get a two-year college degree and a high school diploma at the same time,” Hanson said. “We are leaders in the state with those relationships, with working with high schools. It’s quite remarkable.”
Timeline of Anoka-Ramsey Community College history:
A brief look at the highlights of Anoka-Ramsey Community College’s first 50 years looks like this:
–1965: The college opens with 600 students in a wing of Centennial High School in Circle Pines. Dr. Emil Wilken is president of the college.
–1967: Sen. Walter Mondale delivers the commencement address to the first graduating class.
–1968: A permanent campus in Coon Rapids along the Mississippi River is chosen based on heavy traffic flow, potential student population and aesthetics of the area. With 1,373 students, the college becomes the first permanent junior college campus in the metropolitan area.
–1970: Ronald Denison is appointed president of the college.
–1973: Anoka-Ramsey Junior College becomes Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
–1974: Carl Gerber is appointed interim president of Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
–1976: Neil Christenson is appointed president of the college.
–1978: Cambridge campus opens in a wing of Cambridge Memorial Hospital. The campus works as East Central Community College at Cambridge.
–1981: Cambridge campus is selected as instructional services building.
–1982: The first Cambridge campus commencement ceremonies are held.
–1983: Cambridge campus and the Coon Rapids campus merge as Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
–1988: Richard Carpenter is appointed as president of Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
–1990: Anoka-Ramsey Community College celebrates its 25th anniversary with “Mississippi Magic” community event and Patrick Johns is appointed president of Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
–1993: Anoka-Ramsey establishes a student/faculty exchange program with Zhaoqing University, China.
–1996: Cambridge campus center (including library, student services, bookstore, biology and chemistry labs) is constructed.
–1997: A new science building opens on the Coon Rapids campus.
–2006: Former Vice President Walter Mondale delivers the commencement address to mark the college’s 40th anniversary.
–2007: A 30,000-square-foot addition to Cambridge campus opens.
–2010: Jessica Stumpf is named interim president of Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
–2011: Anoka-Ramsey opens its new visual arts center on the Coon Rapids campus and Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Anoka Technical College align but maintain separate missions.
–2013: The Health and Wellness Center opens on the Coon Rapids campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College, a renovated music building opens on that campus and Kent Hanson is appointed president of Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Anoka Technical College.
–2015: Anoka-Ramsey Community College celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“The feeling I get when I walk through this campus is like none other,” Hanson said. “This is a place with personality, with history, with success. This is a very rare place.”
Heidi Vidor, 50th Anniversary 5K race coordinator, would like to thank Isanti County Sheriff Chris Caulk, Cambridge City Administrator Lynda Woulfe, local police, Cambridge Fire and Rescue, EMS crew, East Central Sanitation for donating the recycling and trash cans, the Cambridge and Isanti Ambassador Programs, the Armory for allowing them to use their parking lot as overflow parking and the many volunteers who helped make the event a huge success.
Sue Austreng, from ABC Newspapers, contributed to this article.