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Isaac Delgado, the
original benefactor of
the College for whom the
school was named, was a
nineteenth century
immigrant from Jamaica
who became a wealthy New
Orleans businessman and
sugar planter. His
philanthropies included
the arts, medicine, and
education. In a 1909
codicil to his will, he
bequeathed the residue
of his estate to the
City of New Orleans to
establish a manual trade
school for young boys.
With funds from this
bequest, land was
purchased for the
current fifty-seven-acre
City Park Campus
adjacent to New Orleans
Municipal City Park. The
original building on
City Park Avenue was
constructed and
furnished with the bulk
of the bequest. In
September of 1921,
Delgado Central Trades
School opened its doors
with a program of
vocational trades for
1300 boys and young men.
After thriving in the
1920s, Delgado was left
without adequate funding
during the years of the
Great Depression.
Revived during World War
II by the need for
technically skilled
workers in aircraft
construction and
maintenance, and in the
metal and woodworking
trades, Delgado had a
brief period of glory in
the 1940s, only to once
again fall into
desperate financial
straits during the
1950s.
In the mid-fifties,
under the leadership of
its Director, Marvin E.
Thames, Sr., Delgado
began to search for a
new mission and adequate
funding. In 1956-1957,
Tulane University made a
survey of Delgado’s role
and scope in a changing
economy. Its prime
recommendations were
that Delgado be expanded
to a technical institute
at the junior college
level and that its main
function be to provide
post-high-school
educational programs for
technicians—and that the
school be properly
funded. The
recommendation was
adopted by the Delgado
Board of Managers and
the New Orleans City
Council. As a result,
the name of the
institution was changed
to Delgado Trades and
Technical Institute, and
a technical two-year
college program was
implemented. In 1960,
the first graduates of
Delgado Institute
received their college
degrees.
By action of the
Louisiana State
Legislature and the New
Orleans City Council, in
1966 Delgado Institute
became Isaac Delgado
College and then Delgado
Vocational-Technical
Junior College and was
recognized and approved
as a model multi-campus,
comprehensive
community/junior college
for Louisiana. Dr.
Thames became its first
President. Four years
later, in 1970, Act 446
of the State Legislature
(based on a 1969 New
Orleans City Council
Resolution) transferred
Delgado College from
control by the City of
New Orleans to the
Louisiana State Board of
Education. Delgado was
accredited by the
Commission on Colleges
of the Southern
Association of Colleges
and Schools in 1971; the
accreditation was
reaffirmed in 1975,
1986, and 1996. The
College name was changed
to Delgado Community
College by Legislative
act in 1980. In 1982 the
central administration
of the College was moved
into a new building at
501 City Park Avenue,
adjacent to the City
Park Campus. Since the
early 1970s, with state
funding for students and
facilities, not only has
the original City Park
Campus developed
dramatically, but other
new campuses and
learning sites have
brought Delgado
Community College to all
areas of metropolitan
New Orleans. |
