Chancellor's Corner

Recent messages:

• Honoring America’s Veterans (November 11, 2024)
• About TCC's 15th Annual Abrazando al Exito (October 25, 2024)

Honoring America’s Veterans

A Legacy of Loyalty and Service. What a fitting theme for Veterans Day 2024!

Whether they wear the uniform of our armed forces today or wore it decades ago, America’s veterans defend our freedoms and protect our values. And it comes at great cost. They miss precious moments with their loved ones so that we may have time with ours.

That’s service at its highest mark, loyalty that defines character, patriotism to swell the heart. How supremely fortunate for our family and friends — our nation, other nations — that these brave men and women heeded the call. Their love of country is in the very fabric of our nation’s flag, each star a beacon of hope, each stripe a narrative of valor.

One thousand eight hundred veterans are enrolled at Tarrant County College this fall, and another 200 are faculty and staff. Thousands of TCC alumni have served in our military and continue to fortify our communities as first responders, educators, healthcare professionals, civic leaders, entrepreneurs and hometown volunteers. All embody what it means to be an American.

To the families of our veterans: Your strength and sacrifice have not gone unnoticed. You kept the home fires burning through deployments, provided comfort during difficult times and displayed extreme resilience in the face of uncertainty. We applaud you as well.

The success of veterans and military-connected students is top priority for Tarrant County College, and not just Veterans Day. Every day, Veterans Services at all six TCC campuses stand ready to help with everything from VA educational benefits to degree planning to counseling.

A variety of special events are planned across our College to honor the armed forces. Share your appreciation! At TCC we don’t need a specific day to thank those who serve. But as long as we have one, let’s do it right.

Veterans, yours is a debt we can never fully repay but one for which we’ll always be thankful. You are the best of us, and you forever will have our respect, our support and our admiration.

About TCC's 15th Annual Abrazando al Exito

Please accept my apology for the cancellation of Tarrant County College’s 15th Annual Abrazando al Exito only two days before the event was to take place October 4. 

Senate Bill 17 (SB-17)—passed by the 88th Legislature in spring 2023 and effective this past January—limits the involvement of employees of state-supported colleges and universities in planning and conducting events, programs or trainings specific to race and ethnicity. Such activities are allowed if planned and conducted by recognized student organizations. 

In finalizing Abrazando al Exito, we realized that certain aspects, like employee involvement and funding, could violate SB-17. According to the law, public postsecondary schools must discipline employees (up to termination) who violate the statute, and institutions risk losing a portion of their state funding. To avoid these potential consequences, Abrazando al Exito was called off.

From the beginning, we anticipated SB-17 would require multiple shifts in emphasis. Many people across our College are working on revised practices and tools to assist us. This has not been easy. The law reads as simple, but its impact is complex and far-reaching. In hindsight, some events earlier this year perhaps should have been canceled. Identifying activities and programs with SB-17 implications is an ongoing process.

While we are making changes to align with SB-17, it does not diminish our dedication to the students and the community we serve.

Again, please know that I am extremely sorry for this sudden cancellation. We never wanted to create confusion or inconvenience, but to comply with state law. We will find new, permissible ways to celebrate the diversity in our state and the power of a workforce that represents our rich culture.

For more details about the new law, see Navigating SB-17: FAQs.