State Fair Community College, which serves a 14-county region in west-central Missouri—including Henry, Johnson, Hickory, and St. Clair counties—began offering courses in Clinton in 1995 at a site located within the Clinton Technical Education Center. In the early 2000s, a group of civic-minded leaders in Clinton came together to plan for a dedicated SFCC location. They purchased the former Wetzel Medical Clinic across from Golden Valley Hospital and remodeled it into the Truman Regional Educational Center. In 2008, SFCC-Clinton officially opened at that site.
Today, the Clinton campus offers programs in Nursing, Surgical Technology, Medical Assisting, Business Management, Criminal Justice, Teaching, Early Childhood Education, and associate degrees designed to transfer to universities.
April is National Community College Month, and the theme for 2025 is “Best Decision Ever.” Nearly 20 years after that local group helped bring SFCC to Clinton, I would proudly argue that their efforts represent exactly that—the best decision ever.
Surely, my bias as the sixth president of SFCC doesn’t color that view—but the evidence speaks for itself. SFCC-Clinton has enabled high school students to earn dual credit and take advantage of Missouri’s outstanding A+ program, which covers community college tuition and fees for eligible graduates. It has opened doors for residents to pursue university-transfer courses or complete workforce certificates and degrees that lead to rewarding careers right here in the region. It has supported local industries with customized training, and it has helped adults earn their High School Equivalency diplomas and receive vital literacy education.
SFCC-Clinton: the best decision ever.
While this education and training are essential today, they will be even more critical in the years ahead. As jobs become increasingly technical, workforce preparation through community colleges is only growing in importance.
According to projections from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, by 2031, 72 percent of jobs in the U.S. will require postsecondary education or training. Between 2021 and 2031, there will be an average of 18.5 million job openings per year—and 12.5 million of those will require at least some college education. In Missouri, it’s projected that by 2031, 66 percent of jobs will require education or training beyond high school.
Though I believe launching a community college campus in Clinton was the best decision ever, that success didn’t come without tremendous effort and the leadership of many dedicated individuals. Essential to SFCC’s long-term success has been our conservative, efficient management; forward-thinking planning; and, most of all, our deep connection to the communities we serve.
To ensure we continue to meet community needs through 2035 and beyond, SFCC welcomes your input for its future strategic and campus planning. Please visit www.sfccmo.edu/plan25 and tell us how we might improve our services at the Clinton Campus, so that we continue to be the Best Decision Ever for generations to come.
Dr. Brent Bates
President, State Fair Community College
