Navarro College

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Navarro College
Navarro College seal.jpg
Established 1946
Type Public College
Students 10,000+
Location Corsicana, Texas, United States
Campus Corsicana, Mexia, Midlothian, Waxahachie
Mascot Bulldogs
Website http://www.navarrocollege.edu/
Navarro College sign off Texas State Highway 31
Cook Center -- Arts, Sciences, Technology -- at Navarro College houses the largest planetarium in Texas.
Navarro College bell tower
Richard M. Sanchez Library
Albritton Administration Building
Navarro College theater

Navarro College is a two-year public institution consisting of a main campus located in Corsicana, with branches in Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie, Texas. The college currently features annual student enrollment of more than nine thousand students.

The Corsicana campus has strong ties with Texas A & M – Commerce which has branches at the Navarro College main campus in Corsicana and the Midlothian campus.[1]

Contents

History

In spring 1946, a group of local citizens met to form a steering committee for the purpose of establishing a junior college in Navarro County. In a general election held July 16, 1946, voters approved the creation of Navarro Junior College and authorized a county tax to help finance the institution. In that same election, voters chose a seven-member board of trustees to govern the college. The first students began classes in September 1946. Most of the 238 members of that first student body were returning veterans from World War II taking advantage of assistance available under the newly enacted GI Bill of Rights. The first campus of Navarro College was the site of the Air Activities of Texas, a World War II primary flight school located six miles (10 km) south of Corsicana.

In 1951, the campus was moved to its present location, a 47-acre (19 ha) tract west of downtown Corsicana on Texas State Highway 31.

In 1974, the college broadened its philosophy and purpose to encompass the comprehensive community-based educational concept, adding occupational education programs and implementing new education concepts including individualized and self-paced instruction and the use of audio-tutorial instructional media. In keeping with the new educational role, the word "junior" was dropped from the institution's name, and the official name Navarro College was adopted by the Board of Trustees. In an attempt to address the growing needs of its service area, which consists of Navarro, Ellis, Freestone, Limestone, and Leon counties, the college began offering courses in various locations in those areas in the early 1970s and eventually established two permanent centers, Navarro College South at Mexia and the Ellis County Center at Waxahachie. In January 2006, a new campus in Midlothian opened to better serve students in that area.[2]

Campus

The Corsicana campus has expanded to 103 acres (42 ha) with 23 buildings. It is home to the Cook Education Center, which houses the largest planetarium in Texas, with a a60-foot-diameter (18 m) dome and seating for more than two hundred,[3] and the Pearce Collections Museum, home to many American Civil War artifacts as well as a western art collection.[4]

Organization and administration

As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of Navarro College includes all of Ellis, Freestone, Leon, Limestone, and Navarro counties.[5]

Academic profile

Navarro is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The accreditation was given in 1954 and reaffirmed in 1964, 1974, 1985, 1995 and again in 2006.[6]

Waxahachie Global High School is partnered with Navarro College, and set up in a way that students at Global can take classes at Navarro. Thus they can graduate high school with an associate degree or transferable credits to a 4 year university along with their high school diploma.

Student life

Sport

The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Bulldogs. In 2011, the baseball team won the NJCAA Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Bulldogs beat the number one team in the country, Central Arizona 6-4 on J.T. Files' walk-off home run in the 10th inning.

Notable people

For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Navarro College alumni.

References

  1. ^ "Navarro Partnership" Texas A&M University–Commerce
  2. ^ "Navarro College History" Navarro College Website
  3. ^ "Cook Center Planetarium"
  4. ^ "The Pearce Museum"
  5. ^ Texas Education Code, Section 130.189, "Navarro College District Service Area".
  6. ^ "Accredited, Candidate, and Applicant Institution List" Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Page 24
  7. ^ "Keith Burns". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved December 10, 2012. 
  8. ^ "Keo Coleman". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved December 10, 2012. 
  9. ^ "Chris Davis Stats". Baseball Almanac.  Unknown parameter |= ignored (help);

External links