
Located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, near Omaha, Nebraska. The college was founded in 1967, and offers 84 programs in both vocational and technical areas as well as in liberal arts. IWCC is also the site of college/alternative radio station 89.7 The River, which serves the entire Omaha metropolitan area.
History of IWCC
In 1964 the need was recognized for expansion of the opportunities for higher education
in the State of Iowa. Study committees across the State were appointed to gather and
disseminate information and to consider the
prospects for establishing two-year area colleges. On June 7, 1965, area school legislation
was approved. By July of the same year, the study committees´ reports and proposals
were published and distributed to school officials in the appropriate designated areas
in the State. A proposal for Iowa Western Community College was authorized by seven
county boards of education in Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Page, Pottawattamie,
and Shelby counties for submission to the State Board of Public Instruction. After
specific locations of campuses were agreed upon, approval was granted by the State
Board in February 1966. Clarinda Junior College, which was established in 1923 and
had a long history of providing a two-year liberal arts education in Southwest Iowa,
was selected to serve as one campus, and a new campus was located in Council Bluffs.
The College expanded into other parts of the district with the establishment of centers
in Atlantic (Cass County Center), Harlan (Shelby County Center), and Shenandoah (Page/Fremont
County Center).
On January 23, 1967, two vocational-technical programs were started using facilities in Council Bluffs. A major development was the addition of a liberal arts curriculum at the Council Bluffs Campus in the fall of 1968.