History

An outgrowth of the Veteran's Vocational School in downtown Troy, the college was founded in 1953 as the Hudson Valley Technical Institute and initially provided practical hands-on vocational training for veterans returning from World War II and the Korean War. The college initially was housed in the former Earl and Wilson shirt collar factory building on the corner of Seventh and Broadway.

By 1955, the college's board of trustees was looking for a larger location to site a campus, and in 1956 announced that the Williams farm, which straddled the Troy-North Greenbush border, would be the chosen site. The new campus, with five Indiana limestone buildings, was completed in 1961.

The next three decades saw continual growth at the college, as technical and health science programs were supplemented with career and transfer program in business and the liberal arts.

Since its inception, Hudson Valley Community College has been sponsored by Rensselaer County and is part of the 30-campus SUNY community college system.