Since 1970, Nashua Community College has served the Greater Nashua community by preparing students for success in the workforce, and for transfer to top educational institutions around the country to pursue their bachelor's degrees and beyond. For more than 50 years, NCC has kept pace with student and economic demands to now offer 50+ associate degree, certificate, and career training pathways.
In 1976, the College expanded facilities to include a separate automotive building. A $3.6 million addition to the main building was completed in June 1986. This addition featured an expanded science area, general classrooms, a hydraulics/pneumatics/robotics laboratory, photography laboratory and studio, microcomputer laboratories, and an expanded cafeteria. In 1990, renovations were completed to accommodate a new program in Aviation Technology (Airframe and Powerplant). To address regional employment demands, the College implemented new programs such as Human Services, Early Childhood Education, and Computer Science.
Funds were approved in Spring 1999 to build a new library and to upgrade science laboratories. The Walter R. Peterson Library opened in December 2000. In 2001, the Claremont Nursing Program was brought as a satellite to the Nashua Campus. The College received accreditation through the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education in 2002. Renovations to the main building and to the automotive building were undertaken in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, the Speech Language Pathology Assistant Program was added to address regional employment demands, and in 2005, the College was chosen to be the site for the Honda PACT Program. That same year, a bond was approved to build a Wellness Center.
The New Hampshire Board of Nursing gave approval to the Nashua Nursing Program in 2006, and the program received National League of Nursing initial accreditation in 2007. Ground was broken in April 2007 for the Wellness Center. In 2007, the New Hampshire Legislature approved money to plan a new health and science academic building. In January 2008, the New Hampshire Legislature approved a name change to Nashua Community College. The Wellness Center opened in Fall 2008. In June 2009, the New Hampshire Legislature approved capital improvement funds to construct a new health, sciences, and humanities academic building which opened Fall 2010. In July 2011, the HSH building was named Judd Gregg Hall to honor the U.S. Senator’s devotion to education reform in New Hampshire. A $2 million, 17,000 square foot addition to the automotive facility was completed in fall of 2012. This expansion was paid for by State Capital funds. The Advanced Machine Tool laboratory renovation was completed in January 2013. This $1.6 million project was funded from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training administration TAACCCT grant. In 2016, a second TAACCCT grant of $2.5 million enabled the College to expand the lab by an additional 3,000 square feet, further enhancing the students’ abilities to compete for future careers in manufacturing-related industries.
In 2018, Nashua Community College and Community College System of New Hampshire leadership announced that the main building will be renamed “Bernie Streeter Hall” in honor of former Executive Councilor and Mayor of Nashua, Bernie Streeter. The College began renovations on the second and third floors of Streeter Hall in 2022, which will house new student collaboration spaces, updated Electronics Engineering Technology lab, and additional STEM classrooms and lab space. Also in 2022, Nashua Community College launched a new Automotive Technology-Mazda Pathway program to train future Mazda technicians. . In 2023, the college added a Public Health and Informatics Technology pathway in Health Sciences, as well as new career training programs in Precision Manufacturing and soldering. This academic year the College will debut new programs in Aviation including Airport Management, Air Traffic Control, as well as Nutrition and Wellness in the Health Sciences Department.
Throughout its history, Nashua Community College has continually assessed its academic programs and instructional facilities in order to provide quality higher-education programs focused on the diverse needs of students and the community.