Celebrating a Legacy
Dr. Maxine Buie Mimms was the visionary behind Â鶹Çø Tacoma. At a time when higher education options in Tacoma were limited to private school or community college, Dr. Mimms began teaching students out of her home. That beginning around a kitchen table would grow to become the Â鶹Çø Tacoma Campus, the first public four-year college in Tacoma. Situated in the Hilltop neighborhood, Dr. Mimms’ vision was to make education accessible to adults who thought that college wasn’t for them.
Dr. Mimms joined Â鶹Çø as a Member of the Faculty in 1972 and retired in 1992. Already a renowned educator, she started teaching at Â鶹Çø’s Olympia campus, and her contributions to the new college were considerable. When the college was still in its early years, she founded and served as the founding director of Â鶹Çø Tacoma.
The resolution presented by the Board of Trustees conferring emerita status to Dr. Mimms, based largely on comments from her colleagues, reads, in part:
In recognition of her twenty years of generous service to Â鶹Çø, especially her dedication to assuring that the college provide access to Washington State residents traditionally underserved by higher education, including her initiation of the Â鶹Çø staff education program, her support of adult women returning to college, her commitment to students of color, and her visionary and human leadership as founder of Â鶹Çø’s Tacoma Campus with its focus on serving Washington’s African-American community;
In appreciation of her generosity of spirit, her willingness to address the often difficult issues that challenge our community, her honesty and authenticity, and her continuing commitment to and creative insight into innovative education.
Established in 2020, The Dr. Maxine Buie Mimms Scholarship supports students at Â鶹Çø Tacoma, with an emphasis on non-traditional and low-income students. The scholarship continues Dr. Mimms work of making a college education accessible to all. The scholarship is currently endowed and will continue in perpetuity.
Please consider making a gift in honor of Dr. Maxine Buie Mimms today.
This is a gift to the Â鶹Çø State College Foundation. 100% of your gift supports Â鶹Çø. 95% of your gift supports the Dr. Maxine Buie Mimms scholarship. Endowments are subject to an annual assessment fee (currently 1%).