In order to expedite the establishment of this coursework, the Massachusetts General Court passed an emergency act on June 13, 1946, to allow school committees to vote for post-graduate instruction.

[14] On April 1, 1947, this name was changed to the Holyoke Junior College after a state act was passed allowing municipalities to operate higher educational institutions under this title.

In its nearly 75 year history the college has had only four presidents, as of 2025, 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.

[18] 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.

[19] 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.