The main administrative offices of the college were on the Ansonville Campus until July 1991. At that time administrative and personnel offices moved to the Polkton campus. The Ansonville Campus was essentially closed in July 1991, except for three programs: Automotive Mechanics, Autobody Repair, and Welding.
In 1993, the institution’s fourth president was installed, a Total Quality Management philosophy was introduced, and the institution’s focus began to change from teaching to learning. Faculty initiated a variety of interdisciplinary learning projects, and a Weekend College was implemented during the winter of 1996. A major change involved the system-wide conversion from quarters to semesters with the first semester courses being offered during the summer of 1997.
During the summer of 1998, the college embarked on the final phase of construction of the 8,000 square foot W. Cliff Martin Technology Complex on the Polkton Campus, with its first classes scheduled during the fall of 1998. At the same time, the college accepted the Anson Community College Foundation’s gift of a 10,500 square foot Autobody Repair/Welding facility located adjacent to the Polkton Campus.
During the summer of 1998, the college acquired the West Knitting Mills Plant in Wadesboro, which had 7,369 acres of land in two tracts with a three-story building of approximately 115,000 square feet and a 397-space asphalt parking lot. Initial renovation plans for this acquisition included construction of a 500-seat banquet facility, conference rooms, and meeting rooms for community use as well as construction of classrooms and computer labs for continuing education use. Renovations to the West Knitting Mill building in Wadesboro, which was renamed the Lockhart-Taylor Center, began during the summer of 1999.
On May 19, 1999, Gov. Jim Hunt signed a bill, based upon recommendations of an independent study team, which dissolved Anson Community College and created North Carolina’s newest community college. The signing of this bill created a single college with two campuses, one in Anson County and one in Union County to serve the residents of both counties, and a new 14-member board of trustees was appointed.
A new board of trustees was appointed to guide South Piedmont, with seven members from the more populous Union County and six representing Anson County. Charter trustees from Union County were Frank Carpenter, Kenneth E. Collins, Koyt W. Everhart, Jr., Gladys McCain Kerr, George Lee Miller, E. Lynn Raye and Richard Stone. Appointed from Anson were Anne M. Covington, James A. Hardison, Jr., Kenneth W. Horne, Jr., W. Cliff Martin, Henry H. “Punky” Morton, Jr., and Jarvis T. Woodburn. The president of the Student Government Association also served as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board.
The college was named South Piedmont Community College on August 3, 1999, using one of the 441 different names suggested from a contest held during July. College officials began planning construction of a new 40,000 square foot building at the West Campus. During the interim, mobile units were set up at Brewer Drive. Creation of the new college also effectively ended the operation of Union Technical Education Center, a collaborative effort between Anson and Stanly Community Colleges to serve the needs of citizens and businesses in Union County.
The new board immediately set out to address space needs in Union County, and in the fall of 1999 purchased the 83,000 square foot former United Carolina Bank Operations Center (UCB) along with 25 additional acres on Old Charlotte Highway in Monroe, to be used as the Old Charlotte Highway (OCH) campus of SPCC.