Last month, Genesee Community College officials marked the end of a multi-year 50th Anniversary celebration by sealing a special Time Capsule inside the stairwell at the south end of the new Richard C. Call Arena. The treasure trunk is filled to the brim with over 200 items of college memorabilia collected over the past 18 months to document, preserve and celebrate the college’s first 50 years. The time capsule is scheduled to be opened in May of 2068 as part of GCC’s 100th Anniversary Celebration.
“Sealing up and stowing away our time capsule offers the perfect opportunity to draw our eighteen month 50th Anniversary celebration to a close,” Dr. James M. Sunser, president of GCC said. “It tied together our inspirational past and our dynamic present, and all within a new facility offering immense promise for GCC’s future. If there is a better conclusion to the whirlwind of anniversary celebrations and activities this past year, I can’t think of it.”
Within the collection are the following ten categories of items with several sample items highlighted:
•Academics – A sample syllabus, math book, testing form, Career Services flyers and a New Courier student newspaper
•Alumni – Six “Forum” newsletters, alumni buttons and the 1993 book, “Profiles in Success: Reflections of the Graduates of GCC”
•Athletics – A photo album, baseball cap and several jerseys
•Collectables – The musical score “Hymn to Genesee,” a mint proof set, and a set of 2017 coins
•College Life – Several college catalogs, staff directories, FAFSA forms and a dining flyer
•College Promotions – Folders, buttons, brochures, pamphlets, Report Cards to the Community and Fast Facts flyers
•GCC Events Materials: From convocation to commencement, fashion shows to homecoming – more than 50 sample items represent the many events that have happened over the past 50 years at GCC
•GCC “Swag:” – Lapel pin, travel mug, USB jump drive, insulated lunch box, “Nail Your Future” emery boards, luggage tags, a whistle with “GCC has all the Bells and Whistles” and a stress cow that promoted the college’s new Food Processing Technology program
•History and Memorabilia – The original deed for the GCC site, and an array of intriguing items donated by alumna Mary Yunker including newspaper clippings from 1970, Student Handbooks, a woman’s athletic uniform and a 1968 edition of Time Magazine
•Illustrations from the Era – Various newspapers, articles and the Batavia brochure from 2018
•Miscellaneous – Banners, college map, bus schedule, cellular telephone, calculator, dry eraser marker, stationery samples, student activity card, a sample bottle of GCC’s Apple Cider Syrup, t-shirt and “Muses of the Hill” book of poetry
A few historical highlights: GCC is one of the few colleges nationwide that was established as a result of a successful grassroots campaign that culminated in a successful 1966 public referendum supporting the creation of a community college. Genesee Community College first opened its doors on September 28, 1967 with 21 faculty members and 378 full-time and 243 part-time students – which was five times more than anticipated. GCC’s first campus was on West Main in Batavia in a converted Valu Hardware Store. The college enrollment quickly outgrew this space and its permanent home opened in 1972 on College Road.
In addition, alumnus Donald Conway, GCC Class of 1979, who worked on a major NASA project during his employment at Kodak, shared some of the collateral materials from the CHANDRA X-Ray telescope. Conway attended the Time Capsule ceremony and helped President Sunser stow the large trunk-size capsule.
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