Wor-Wic Community College celebrating 50th anniversary with special events

AI-assisted summary
• Wor-Wic Community College, originally known as Wor-Wic Tech Community College, began in 1975 offering education and training programs.
• The college, which started with classes at the Holly Center in Salisbury, now boasts a campus with 10 modern buildings.
• Wor-Wic has played a vital role in the Lower Shore economy, adding $148.9 million in income in fiscal year 2023.

Wor-Wic Community College is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with special events to mark the big occasion.

Here's more on the school's long history in Salisbury and an upcoming event that celebrates it.

Wor-Wic's first class was actually taught at Holly Center

Originally known as Wor-Wic Tech Community College, it was the only school of its kind in Maryland that offered education and training programs by leasing existing facilities at its founding, rather than starting with a campus. In 1975, the college was approved by the state and Dr. Arnold Maner was named president of the college. The first class, “The Licensed Practical Nurse as a Charge Nurse,” was held at the Holly Center in Salisbury.

In the beginning, the college’s administrative office was in the old Salisbury Mall. By the fall of 1976, 200 students were enrolled in fall credit classes in seven programs of study: accounting, business management, hotel-motel management, law enforcement, liberal arts and sciences, retail management and secretarial science.

Wor-Wic becomes integral part of Lower Shore economy

Over the years, the college dropped “Tech” from its name, moved its offices several times and held classes in many different locations. In 1994, the college finally got its walls – the first building, now known as Brunkhorst Hall, opened in August 1994 in the current campus location on the corner of Walston Switch Road and Route 50 in Salisbury. Following Maner’s retirement in 2000, Dr. Ray Hoy became president, steering the institution through transformative decades until 2023, when Deborah Casey, Ph.D., began her tenure as Wor-Wic’s third president.

Today, Wor-Wic’s campus features 10 modern buildings, a café, a bookstore and a child care center. From the specialized training facilities of Shockley Hall for health professions and Guerrieri Hall for criminal justice to the hands-on innovation of the Patricia and Alan Guerrieri Technology Center, each building added to campus has represented a step forward in meeting the demands of modern industries.

These facilities empower students in fields like healthcare, criminal justice, education, hospitality and cutting-edge technical careers, ensuring a skilled workforce ready to drive the region’s growth. In fiscal year 2023, Wor-Wic added $148.9 million in income to the economy of the Lower Shore of Mary­land, a value approximately equal to 1.5% of the region’s total gross regional product. Thousands of students walk its halls each year, and most graduates stay in the region, contributing to the local economy and fulfilling the college’s original purpose of building a stronger workforce and a more vibrant community.

Special events will celebrate Wor-Wic's 50th anniversary

The following events celebrating Wor-Wic Community College's 50th anniversary are coming up on the school's Salisbury campus or via Zoom:

• 6:30 p.m. April 10, on Zoom: Argentine-Chilean playwright, novelist, essayist and human rights activist Ariel Dorfman will be reading selections from his new novel “Allegro,” a historical thriller featuring Mozart
• 1 p.m. April 11: Poet Abdul Ali will hold a creative writing workshop
• 6 p.m. April 23, via Zoom: Ada Limón,, the current U.S. poet laureate, will present a reading.

Visit worwic.edu/50-years for more information.