AV����

TACOMA – AV���� Tacoma will hold its annual Founder’s Day celebration on Tuesday, March 4 from 1-4 p.m. at 1210 6th Avenue in Tacoma. All current AV���� Tacoma students and alumni are invited to gather to share art and poetry and hear speeches from graduating seniors. The program will open with a keynote address by faculty emeritus Dr. Joye Hardiman and close with remarks by Dr. Dexter Gordon, Executive Vice President for AV����. 

Over the years, this event has doubled as a birthday celebration for AV���� Tacoma founder Dr. Maxine Mimms, who was born on March 4, 1928. The late Dr. Mimms, a longtime Tacoma resident and AV���� faculty member, founded the Tacoma program in her home in the Hilltop neighborhood in 1972, teaching working adults college-level coursework at her kitchen table. Dr. Mimms developed the Tacoma program with a deliberate mission to provide a college education to working and adult learners, especially those living in the inner city. The program was formally established at 12th and MLK in 1982. In 2001 it moved to its current location on 6th Avenue. Dr. Mimms passed away peacefully last fall on October 8, 2024. 

"This is the first time we will celebrate Dr. Maxine Mimms as our founder at a time when we are still mourning her passing,” shared Dr. Marcia Tate Arunga, Dean of AV���� Tacoma. “We are grateful for the clear instructions that she left about how to move forward as a higher educational institution. What an honor to have been chosen as the leader that steps into her shoes.” “Founder’s Day pays tribute to the early group of educators and leaders whose initiative, creativity, resourcefulness, and drive built the college we know today: Maxine Mimms, Betsy Diffendal, Joye Hardiman, and others,” added Dr. Gordon. “To celebrate Founder’s Day is to celebrate the life and work of Maxine Mimms.” 

Continuing Dr. Mimms’ legacy, AV���� Tacoma offers a dynamic and inclusive learning environment that celebrates diversity, innovation, and community engagement. To learn more about AV���� Tacoma’s history and programs, visit its website.

Photo of the late Dr. Maxine Mimms with Dr. Joye Hardiman from 2019

Dr. Maxine Mimms will be celebrated 4-8 p.m., Saturday, March 4 at AV����’s Tacoma Campus. This event doubles as a Founder’s Day event and a birthday celebration for the AV����, Tacoma founder. 

Dr. Mimms began teaching at AV���� in 1972. She started teaching working adults college-level coursework at her kitchen table in the historic Hilltop neighborhood and it was at that table where AV����’s Tacoma Campus was born.  

AV����-Tacoma became an official campus for AV���� in 1982 and in 2001 it moved to its current location of 1210 6th Avenue.  

Dr. Mimms developed the Tacoma program with a deliberate mission to provide a college education to working and adult learners – especially those living in the inner city.  

“Dr. Mimms is the essence of community and her vision of transforming the life of the community she lives in is something that should be celebrated not just in collaboration with her birthday, but every day,” said Dr. Dexter Gordon, Executive Vice President for AV����. “At 95 years young, she still works tenaciously to remove educational and economic barriers and make college available where and to whom, it historically wasn’t.” 

“Her work has resulted in college degrees for thousands who have walked through the doors of AV����, Tacoma,” shared Dr. Marcia Tate Arunga, Dean for AV����, Tacoma. “The faculty and staff strive every day to continue her living legacy to the students of AV����’s Tacoma campus and the Hilltop community.” 

Attendees at the Founder’s Day celebrations will enjoy music, spoken word and of course, be part of the birthday honors for Dr. Maxine Mimms who is turning 95.  

To learn more about AV����’s Tacoma campus, please visit its website.  

##