The official history of Phillips County Community College dates from two events in 1965: (1) Act 560 of the Arkansas State Legislature, which paved the way for establishing community colleges; and (2) an affirmative vote by the people of Phillips County on October 23, 1965, which provided the local financial support for the college.

     The Board of Trustees was appointed by the Governor of the State and met for the first time on November 1, 1965, officially creating Phillips County Community College. An early order of business for the Board was the election of Dr. John Easley as the first President of the College. The assembly of a faculty and staff was completed, and the new College was ready to open its doors in temporary quarters by September, 1966. The Board of Trustees decided that since construction of a new plant would take approximately two years, classes would begin in the Naval Reserve Building in Helena. The building served as home for Phillips County Community College for two years. In May, 1968, the first class was graduated. Construction of the permanent College facilities was also completed in 1968, and school opened in September of that year on the present campus.

     During Dr. Easley's presidency, enrollment at the college grew, as did the physical plant. In 1972, the Fine Arts Center and Lily Peter Auditorium were completed with the help of generous support from the community. In 1976, the Nursing Education Complex was completed. In 1982, the Technical & Industrial Education Complex was opened. In 1986, the administration/data processing building was completed and a year later, the college library was renovated and named the Lewis Library, thanks to the generosity of the A. B. Lewis family.

     In 1988, Dr. Easley retired and the administration building was renamed in his honor. Dr. Steven W. Jones was elected by the Board of Trustees to be the college's second president on March 8, 1988.

     Since that time, the College has experienced dramatic growth with an expansion of the curriculum and facilities. Enrollment increased steadily in the early 1990's, and the Asa W. Bonner Student Center was dedicated in 1991. The Mitchell Science annex was added to the Nursing Education Complex in 1992. In 1993, the College was given the historic Pillow-Thompson House in Helena by Josephine Thompson and her son, George de Man. The house was renovated with the generous support of community donations and historic preservation grants and reopened in May of 1997.

     In March 1996, the people of Arkansas County passed a referendum to annex that county into the PCCC taxing district. The Board of Trustees changed the name of the college to Phillips Community College to reflect the multi-county support and began plans to expand the off-campus programs in Stuttgart. In June 1996, the State transferred the former Rice Belt Technical Institute in DeWitt to Phillips Community College and on July 1, 1996, Phillips became a member of the University of Arkansas System. PCCUA now has three campuses in DeWitt, Helena, and Stuttgart.