The photographs on display in this exhibition provide a glimpse of campus life at The Junior College of Commerce, the educational institution that would eventually become Quinnipiac University.

Established in 1929 by Judge Philip Troup, educators Samuel and Irmagarde Tator, and 11 prospective students as The Connecticut College of Commerce, the school initially enrolled 200 commuter students from the greater New Haven area. Two year degrees were offered in the arts and sciences, pre-law, journalism, business, and the secretarial sciences, and courses were taught in the evening. In 1931, a day division was added. 

The first classes were held at locations on Chapel and Howe Streets in New Haven, but in 1934 the college purchased the Charles S. Mellen Mansion at 389 Whitney Ave, New Haven. Mellen, known as “The last of the railway czars,” had been the president of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. The mansion would serve as the main campus until the late 1940s. During the first year of the Whitney Ave campus’s existence the name of the school was changed to The Junior College of Commerce (JCC).

The earliest photographs found in the University Archives date from the JCC years, and include images of academic, social, and sports/recreational life.

In 1951, the name of the JCC was changed to Quinnipiac College, and in 1952 the college took over the administration of Larson College, a school for women that was located at 1450 Whitney Ave in Hamden. Larson offered degrees in several different fields, including allied health, and a number of these degrees were incorporated into the QC curriculum. Quinnipiac eventually relocated to the Larson College campus, and Larson officially merged with Quinnipiac in 1957.

In 1966, Quinnipiac College moved to the current Mount Carmel Campus, and the buildings from the former JCC and Larson campuses were sold.

The Junior College of Commerce Campus at 389 Whitney was eventually acquired by Yale University, and the property is now The Consultation Center, Inc., which provides a variety of mental health counseling services.

Junior College of Commerce, Main Campus Building, 389 Whitney Ave., circa 1930s  

Samuel and Irmagarde Tator, College Founders 

                                                          

Junior College of Commerce Cafeteria, circa 1940s 

Junior College of Commerce Baseball Team, 1939