Cowley College began as ‘Basement University’
Arkansas City Junior College held its first classes in 1922 and was moved to the high school basement.
By Loretta Vance
Cowley College held its first classes on Sept. 11, 1922. It was called Arkansas City Junior College then, and it was run by the local school district.
Classes started on the top floor of Arkansas City High School and were soon moved to the basement, which earned the school the nickname “Basement University.” An auditorium and gym went up in 1936, and in 1952 the college got its own building.
In the 1960s the name changed more than once as Kansas passed laws to grow junior colleges. In 1965 it became Cowley County Community College and Vocational-Technical School. Two years later county voters elected a six-member board of trustees, which took control on July 1, 1967, and named Paul Johnson the first president.
Today the college has locations in Wellington, Winfield, Mulvane and Wichita as well as Arkansas City.