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ECOH Project

Exton Center Oral History Project information and featured interviews.

ECOH Project logo

Let's make history together

The purpose of the Exton Center Oral History (ECOH) Project is to collect, share, and preserve the unique cultural history of Delaware County Community College Exton Center as told in the stories of its students, staff, and faculty.

Activities

ECOH Project interviewers will engage Exton Center students, staff, and faculty in semi-structured interviews about their experiences at the Center.

Interviewees will self-select to participate in the ECOH Project and will be asked to sign a release form prior to their participation.

Interviews will be recorded in either audiovisual or audio-only formats at the interviewees’ discretion.

Interviews will be deposited and cataloged in the Delaware County Community College Digital Repository and maintained by Library Services as part of the College Archives Oral History initiative.

The ECOH Project was approved by DCCC's Institutional Review Board.

Featured Interviews

Part 1:

Part 2:

Dr. Mary Jo Boyer, Vice Provost and Vice President for Branch Campus Operations at Delaware County Community College, shares her recollections of Exton Center's history and evolution.  Hear how serendipity played a significant role in the establishment and growth of Exton I and II, how the Center solved a furniture shortage during unanticipated enrollment growth, and how early trends in instructional technology and design influenced the campus's unique course schedule.  A former professor and dean of the College's health science division, Dr. Boyer also recounts the heyday of DCCC's nursing program and its expansion into Chester County.  Dr. Boyer and communication studies professor Danamarie Every Gallagher also discuss the interplay of size, language, and location in creating Exton's unique campus culture and identity.
 
Excerpts from the full interview.
Recorded by Danamarie Every Gallagher and Sarah Hartman-Caverly.
Edited and produced by Sarah Hartman-Caverly.
Music credit: 'Freedom Drops' by Ari de Niro via Free Music Archive.

Dr. Jerry Parker, Delaware County Community College President, shares recollections on the origins of Exton Center as DCCC's first independent outpost in Chester County.  He discusses the role of Exton Center in expanding the College's service to Chester County, how Exton Center supported early experimentation with dual enrollment and distance education, the parallel physical and virtual expansion of the College in the early days of the World Wide Web, and the mystery of missed connections between Downingtown Campus and Exton Center.  He also reveals what it would take to rename the College to include a nod to Chester County.
Excerpts from the full interview.
Recorded, edited, and produced by Sarah Hartman-Caverly.
Music credit: 'Freedom Drops' by Ari de Niro via Free Music Archive.

An anonymous former student of Delaware County Community College Exton Center shares insights on how the smallness of the campus allowed for greater connections between students and professors, how taking evening classes with 'post-traditional' adult students enhanced his learning experience, how Exton Center prepared him for bachelor's and master's level coursework, and what advice he would offer to current students.
Excerpts from the full interview.
Recorded, edited, and produced by Sarah Hartman-Caverly.
Music credit: 'Freedom Drops' by Ari de Niro via Free Music Archive.

Exton Center | Delaware County Community College | 906 Springdale Drive | Exton, PA 19341

Exton Center of Delaware County Community College