Cochise College classes have been offered in the Sierra Vista/Fort Huachuca area since the 1960s. By 1972, college instructors were teaching courses in temporary buildings at Buena High School. In 1974, the Andrea Cracchiolo family donated 40 acres of land east of Sierra Vista for the future site of the Sierra Vista Campus, which opened in 1978. To meet the needs of a growing student population, the ground was broken on the Andrea Cracchiolo Library and the science building in September 1994. Today, the campus provides a diverse curriculum of general education, transfer, and occupational programs, including computer science, nursing, business, welding, and manufacturing engineering. It is located in close proximity to apartments, shopping, dining, a university, and Buena High School.