passed allowing municipalities to operate higher educational institutions under this title. On July 1, 1964, with approval from the state department of education, the school board relinquished control and the college was given its current name, Holyoke Community College. On January 4, 1968, the Holyoke Community College building burned to the ground. Classes continued in various locations across Holyoke. A temporary campus was opened in June 1971 and the current campus opened on February 19, 1974. In its nearly 75 year history the college has had only four presidents, as of , with founding director Dr. George E. Frost serving until 1975, at which time alumnus and former Speaker of the Massachusetts House Dr. David M. Bartley succeeded him. With Bartley's retirement in 2004, William F. Messner became the third, and with his 2016 retirement the current president, Dr. Christina Royal, became the fourth and the first woman to serve the office. In October 2019, the college announced it would launch the state's first Cannabis Education Center in partnership with the Cannabis Community Care and Research Network (C3RN). The program provides certificate training for patient advocates, budtenders, extraction and laboratory roles, as well as offerings within its culinary program. Foundation Following a devastating fire that destroyed the then-refurbished college building (the former Alderman Holyoke High School), the yellow bricks from the former facility were sold off to raise funds for an independent charitable corporation, created by Mayor William S. Taupier. This charity, known as the Friends of Holyoke Community College, was initially founded for the purpose of conducting fundraising to construct new facilities. The idea of rebuilding such a school in Holyoke was left in doubt by the state but after hundreds of letters and phone calls from residents to Governor Volpe, funding was granted for an entirely new campus in the Homestead Avenue neighborhood. The Friends of Holyoke Community College would be renamed the Holyoke Community College Foundation in 1985, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which fundraises to supplement state appropriations to the college through benefactor scholarships, educational grants, and the annually-awarded Elaine Marieb Faculty Chair for Teaching Excellence. As of 2018, the foundation presided over the largest endowment of any community college foundation in the Commonwealth. Campus Locations In addition to the main campus on in the Homestead Avenue area of Holyoke, the community college also maintains a number of satellite campuses, generally associated with specific programs, including: