Prescott College - History

History

In 1965, the Ford Foundation brought together a group of educators from around the United States and challenged them to create an ideal college for the future— a college that would use the very best learning theories to prepare students for their place in an ever-changing world. Prescott College was the result of this gathering.

The college was originally built in 1966 on 200 acres (0.81 km2) outside of Prescott, Arizona, on what later came to be known as the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University campus. In 1974, despite dedicated faculty and students, the college went bankrupt due to poor fiscal management and the loss of anticipated donor funds. A core of determined faculty and students refused to see the college fold, and after a series of emergency meetings, formed the Prescott Center for Alternative Education. This earned the school national publicity as "The College That Wouldn't Die."

During the spring semester of 1975, classes were held in the basement of the historic Hassayampa Hotel in downtown Prescott, Arizona, as well as in the homes of both faculty and students. Over the succeeding years, the college was able to once again obtain the legal right to the name Prescott College and began acquiring the property and buildings which constitute the current main campus. Prescott College also has a Tucson, Arizona location.

Most of the current Prescott location buildings have been converted to classrooms from their previous purposes (e.g., furniture stores and dental offices). The newest building, the Crossroads Center, was intended to be a model of environmental design. It houses classrooms, meeting facilities, and the college library as well as computer labs. Below are pictures of the building: