EducationBoard of DirectorsNonprofit Member
Highland University, now Highland Community College, was chartered by the Kansas Territorial Legislature on February 9, 1858, making it the oldest surviving college in Kansas. The history can be traced back to the Presbyterian Indian Mission established by Reverend Samuel Irvin in 1837. Father Irvin and his wife Eliza were sent to Kansas by the Western Foreign Missionary Society to minister to the Iowa, Sac and Fox Indians. The 1,000 Iowa and 500 Sac and Fox Indians were still very primitive when they were moved to Kansas in 1837 from the Platt Purchase region of northwestern Missouri. The original Indian Mission built in 1845 and costing $7,000 still stands today just east of Highland, KS. The original College Administration Building, built in 1909 for $27,500, is still in use today. The Foundation was established in 1987 to receive gifts for the development of scholarships, programming and capital needs of the College. Today Highland is the sixth largest Community College with 3,600 students and ranks fourth in High School Technical Education Training in Kansas. Highland offers four associate degrees with sixty four concentrations and sixteen certificate programs.