Under the sponsorship of the Corning-Painted Post School District, Corning Community College opened its doors in September 1958 with eight faculty members and a student body of 118. The new college was led by 32-year-old Dr. William Lee Perry [pictured] and started in a Corning School District building on Chemung Street. By 1960, the College enrollment increased to 350 full-time students and 260 part-time students, with the number of faculty doubling to 16. The College continued to grow and began looking for a permanent home. In October 1960, thanks to a generous gift of land by Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. and a $2,250,000 donation from Corning Glass Works Foundation, the College began construction of a new campus on Spencer Hill. Dr. Perry spearheaded the planning, design, and construction of the College on Spencer Hill, and classes began on the hill in the fall of 1963. The campus was formally dedicated in May 1964, and it received its first Middle States accreditation in June of that year.