In honor of our 50th anniversary, here are 50 things you need to know about Forsyth Tech:

  1. Forsyth Tech has had 4 names:
    Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Industrial Education Center (1960 – 1964)
    Forsyth Technical Institute (1964 – 1985)
    Forsyth Technical College (1985 – 1987)
    Forsyth Technical Community College (1987 – Present)
  2. Forsyth Tech’s Mazie S. Woodruff Center is named for the first African-American elected to the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, which happened in 1978. The Woodruff Center opened in 1998.
  3. Forsyth Tech is the only community college in the southeast offering a degree in Nanotechnology.
  4. The Richard Childress Race Car Technology Program at Forsyth Tech is the oldest and largest Race Car Technology program of any community college in North Carolina. Richard Childress has earned more than 180 victories and 12 NASCAR championships as a driver and car owner.
  5. All the Forsyth Tech buildings at all locations combine to offer almost 700,000 sq. ft. of space. The addition of the new Transportation Center in 2011 and the renovated Career Center in 2013 will given the school a total of over 1,000,000 sq. ft. of space.
  6. Forsyth Tech’s Adult High School program is free and open to any Forsyth or Stokes County resident who seeks to earn a high school diploma.
  7. Forsyth Tech offers 18 degrees and certificates that can be earned entirely online.
  8. Forsyth Tech has “Study Away” educational partnership agreements with colleges in Denmark, England, Mexico and the Republic of Belarus.
  9. Bob Greene Hall on our Main Campus is named for the man who served as President of Forsyth Tech from 1981 until 1995.
  10. A two-year nursing degree was first offered at Forsyth Tech in the fall of 1972. Since that time, hundreds of nurses have graduated from the program and gone on to work in local hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices.
  11. Forsyth Tech’s Early College of Forsyth and Stokes Early College allow students to earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree at the same time and at no cost.
  12. The Forsyth Tech Small Business Center provides free confidential one-on-one counseling services for new and existing businesses.
  13. The Shugart Women’s Center at Forsyth Tech is named for Mr. Grover F. Shugart, CEO of Shugart Enterprises, who provided funds to endow the Center in 2002.
  14. The Bytes and Beans Café, located on Main Campus at the north end of the Parkway Building, has wireless internet access so you can sip and surf simultaneously.
  15. The Star Catchers, a group made up of Forsyth Tech Compensatory Education students from Stokes County, has performed at venues across North Carolina, including  at the State Capital for Gov. Perdue’s 2010 Independence Day celebration.
  16. James A. Rousseau II, for whom the James A. Rousseau II Minority Male Mentoring program is named, was a science teacher and principal in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system before serving as vice president of development at Forsyth Tech for many years.
  17. The first CareersNOW graduating class in North Carolina was at Forsyth Tech – the ceremony was held December 10, 2009. Forsyth Tech has graduated one-quarter of the state’s CareersNOW students.
  18. The Blynn Holocaust Collection, a special collection of the Forsyth Tech Library, offers students a wide array of materials dealing with the 20th century destruction of the European Jews.
  19. Under the North Carolina Comprehensive Articulation Agreement, Forsyth Tech credits are guaranteed to transfer to any of the North Carolina University system schools and many private colleges.
  20. Dr. Gary Green is Forsyth Tech’s 7th President since the College opened its doors in 1960.
  21. Forsyth Tech operates a Dental Education Clinic on our Main Campus where anyone can get low cost dental services from Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting students.
  22. Forsyth Tech offers a Cooperative Education (Co-op) program that allows students to combine classroom study with supervised, work-related learning in an actual work environment.
  23. Forsyth Tech is one of only five colleges in the United States selected by the Manufacturing Institute to participate in the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)-Endorsed Skills Certification System.
  24. Forsyth Tech offers many scholarships for specific programs, including Nursing, Welding, Horticulture, Automotive Systems, Therapeutic Massage, Paralegal Technology and a variety of others.
  25. Krishauna Hines-Gaither, our 2007 Distinguished Alumni award winner, had never taken a Spanish class before she attended Forsyth Tech and she is now a professor of Spanish at Salem College.
  26. Our Career Services office offers students a wide variety of career counseling and advice, including resume preparation, interviewing skills, information about career fairs, and so on.
  27. Constitution Day is celebrated on Forsyth Tech’s Main Campus each September 17th to honor the day the U.S. Constitution was signed in 1787.
  28. The student paper, Technically Speaking, is produced by member of the school’s Journalism Club, one of more than twenty student clubs and organizations at Forsyth Tech.
  29. The Grady P. Swisher Center in Kernersville is named for a long-time member of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.
  30. The Forsyth Tech library, located on the 1st floor of Ardmore Hall on the Main Campus, contains 42,000 books, 20,000 e-books, 239 periodical subscriptions, and more than 500 online periodical resources.
  31. Forsyth Tech has the largest Biotechnology degree program of any community college in North Carolina.
  32. Forsyth Middle College is a junior/senior high school located on the Forsyth Tech Main Campus that offers students an academically challenging environment and the opportunity to earn college credits.
  33. The Thomas H. Davis iTEC (Information Technology) Center, located in the Technology and Student Services building on Main Campus, is named for the founder of Piedmont Airlines (today known as US Airways).
  34. The Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) is a nationally recognized, EEOC-compliant, test-based credential offered by Forsyth Tech that demonstrates skills and proficiencies that employers are looking for.
  35. Forsyth Tech and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) are partners in a Dual Admissions Program (DAP) that allows students to be simultaneously granted admission to both colleges.
  36. Forsyth Tech has two JobLink Centers – the Educational Career/JobLink Center in Winston-Salem and the Stokes County Small Business/JobLink Center in Walnut Cove – that offer many resources for those seeking a job, a better job or a new career.
  37. Forsyth Tech has the largest Health Technology program of any community college in North Carolina.
  38. Forsyth Tech’s Mechtild/Montgomery Language Lab contains 20 computers that provide staff, students and alumni access to the popular Rosetta Stone language learning software.
  39. One-on-one tutoring in a wide variety of subjects is free for all Forsyth Tech students and is available through the Learning Resource Center in Ardmore Hall on Main Campus.
  40. Forsyth Tech operates three bookstores – on Main Campus, West Campus and the Northwest Forsyth Center in King – as well as offering textbooks through an online bookstore.
  41. Through our Corporate & Continuing Education division, Forsyth Tech offers a wide variety of Personal Enrichment courses in foreign languages, dance, arts & crafts and many more fun and educational topics.
  42. Forsyth Tech offers courses in Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing that can help businesses operate more efficiently and economically.
  43. Forsyth Tech’s West Campus site on Bolton Street was originally Dalton Junior High School.
  44. The William Henry Moser Family Paralegal Program was named in memory of Steve Moser, a former Assistant Clerk of Court for Forsyth County.
  45. When Forsyth Tech opened in 1960 (as the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Industrial Education Center), automotive mechanics, machine shop, electronics and practical nursing were among the first course offerings.
  46. Forsyth Tech offers weekly Employment Skills Labs that offer help with job search methods, resume writing, interview skills and more for those seeking a job or career advancement.
  47. Forsyth Tech has a bowling league for students each fall and spring semester.
  48. Forsyth Tech alumni, students, faculty or anyone who is just a fan of the school can leave their mark on the school by purchasing a personalized brick to be placed in the Alumni Oval on Main Campus.
  49. Forsyth Tech has a number of bilateral agreements with University of North Carolina schools that allow students from AAS degree programs to transfer to baccalaureate degree programs and pursue a BA or BS in their chosen field of study.
  50. Forsyth Tech is one of only 11 of the state’s 58 community colleges to have met or exceeded 2010 standards for “Exceptional Institutional Performance.”