On December 18, 1959, Suffolk County Community College of the State University of New York was founded under the administration of a nine-member board of trustees, five appointed by the then County Board of Supervisors and four by the Governor of the State of New York. On October 3, 1960, the college officially opened, occupying temporary facilities at Sachem Junior-Senior High School in Ronkonkoma, New York, as well as part-time facilities at Riverhead High School in Riverhead. Initial enrollment included 171 full-time students and 335 part-time students. As the college began to grow, the Board of Supervisors of Suffolk County provided a 130-acre site in Selden for a permanent campus. Six buildings on the site were renovated and converted, equipment necessary for the operation of the college was obtained, and in August 1961 the college occupied what was later to be known as the Ammerman Campus, renamed in honor of the college’s founding president, Dr. Albert M. Ammerman. The second year of operation opened with over 1,400 full- and part-time students. In June 1962, the College held its first commencement exercises, at which 42 graduates received associate degrees. Two other permanent campuses were opened – the Michael J. Grant Campus in Brentwood in 1974 and the Eastern Campus in Riverhead in 1977.