Before We Were M State: Moorhead
Moorhead Area Vocational Technical Institute was established in 1965 following approval by the State Board of Education in January of that year.
Oscar Bergos, the namesake of the Oscar Bergos Center that was later established at M State-Moorhead, was the school’s first director. While a new college building was being constructed, he established his first office in the boys’ sick room of the former Moorhead West Senior High School.
The first winter of classes, in 1966, there were just three programs offered at the institute: Chef Training, Electronics, and Appliance Repair. One hundred and twenty-five students enrolled that first year, many of them through the Manpower Development Training Act. Chef Training classes were held in the kitchen at Moorhead’s North Junior High School, after the junior high's cook left for the day, and Appliance Repair and Electronics courses were held in the former Moorhead Daily News building.
A new college building, seated on 42 acres at 28th Avenue South, opened in 1967 with additional programs in Auto Mechanics, Carpentry, Diesel Mechanics and the Electronics Technician field.
The campus saw tremendous growth over the next few decades, with several successful bond issues and significant new additions built onto the facility, in 1972, ‘75, ‘77, ‘83, ‘84, ‘89 and ‘90.
In July 1992, the Moorhead Area Vocational Technical Institute became a part of Northwest Technical College along with Detroit Lakes, Wadena and three other campuses in the region. The Moorhead School Board relinquished its governing authority and transferred its powers to the Northwest Technical College Board.
In 1995, governance was taken over by the State of Minnesota's Higher Education Board. By that time, there were over 70 programs offered at the Moorhead college; from its modest beginning with three programs and eight staff, it had grown to serving over 1,250 students and employing over 170 people.
The campus has continued to grow in the years since then, adding more programs, facilities, employees and students.
Read more about the early histories of our campuses in: