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NOVA History Collections

NOVA History Collections documents the history of Northern Virginia Community College as it has grown from a few classrooms in a small warehouse in Bailey’s Crossroads to one of the largest community colleges in the nation.

About this Collection

This collection of student publications, photographs, Campus Council minutes, event programs and other historical documents comes from the archives of the Alexandria Campus Library. Most of the items in this collection were digitized from 2009-2011. Student publications include some of only local reporting on events at the Alexandria Campus throughout its history. Our collection of photographs includes administrators and faculty at the Alexandria Campus and photographs and early sketches of campus buildings.

Alexandria Campus History

In 1965, Northern Virginia Technical College opened for classes with 761 students in the Carlyn Springs Road warehouse, located in Bailey’s Crossroads. To accommodate an ever-growing student body, the college purchased 78 acres in Annandale in 1966 to build the first campus site. The following year saw the opening of the new building on the Annandale campus and the purchase of three more campus sites in Sterling, Manassas and Woodbridge. In 1969, the college purchased 22.5 acres in Alexandria for $450,000.

Originally known as the Eastern Campus, the Alexandria Campus began construction of the Bisdorf Building in 1971. In the summer of 1973, classes were moved from the original Bailey’s Crossroads warehouse to the Alexandria Campus. By the fall quarter, more than 6,000 students were registered for classes.

Today, the Alexandria Campus has the second-highest enrollment at the college and boasts four buildings, including the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, which opened in the fall of 2001. The campus offers more than 70 programs and degrees, including nine foreign languages and an ESL program.