Chancellor’s Corner
What an auspicious point in time to be part of the TCC family! And since you are reading this issue of REACH, you certainly can include yourself in this esteemed group because at this moment, you are part of TCC’s 50-year story…a story we are celebrating with great pride, great love and extraordinary enthusiasm…through the end of the year.
If we are to give credence to William Shakespeare’s words in The Tempest—that "what’s past is prologue"—then it would stand to reason that TCC’s legacy of institutional excellence on behalf of the people of Tarrant County is just the beginning.
I am privileged to have been part of the TCC family since joining the inaugural faculty at the Northeast Campus in 1968. A lot has changed in the last 47 years, but certain fundamentals have not: namely, that everything we do at TCC is with our students’ needs in mind. Over the years we have grown, from a single-campus District in 1965 to the nation’s 16th-largest institution of higher education with five campuses, a virtual campus and 17 centers. We serve more than 100,000 students each year. And we are committed to the continued economic health of Tarrant County.
The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce obviously agrees. In June, TCC Board President Louise Appleman and I accepted the Chamber’s prestigious "Spirit of Enterprise" Award on behalf of the College and our nearly 5,500 faculty and staff members. I’ve attended the Chamber’s annual luncheon for many years and have had the good fortune to help celebrate those truly great organizations that have received this same recognition. I speak for all of us at TCC in saying how pleased we are to be among such esteemed company.
When we learned about the award, I was reminded of the words of President Calvin Coolidge, who said that "No enterprise can exist for itself alone. It ministers to some great need, it performs some great service, not for itself, but for others; or failing therein, it ceases to be profitable and ceases to exist." From the beginning, TCC has existed to perform the great service of developing an educated, prepared workforce that will help fuel continued economic growth for our region, for our country and for our world. We meet our students where they are and help get them where they want to go, adhering forever and always to our commitment to putting Success Within Reach for all who enter our doors.
What a great year for TCC—as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we acknowledge other important milestones, including a record number of graduates—6,151—this past May; an ever-growing number of Early College High School graduates – this year, 37 high school students who received their Associate degree AND their high school diploma; the opening in August of our Center of Excellence for Energy Technology at our South Campus; the opening of our fifth Early College High School, also at the South Campus; and, a final payment of $98 that enabled TCC to be completely debt-free for the first time since 1966. With all of this, we continue to have close to the lowest tuition rate of any community college in the state of Texas while delivering an annual economic impact of $1.6 billion annually.
As we embark upon our next 50 years, we will continue seeking opportunities to partner with local business partners to develop programs that benefit our students while preparing a highly skilled workforce able to meet changing industry needs. We will continue working to develop and sustain a college-going culture with our young people. We will continue to be an enterprise that exists not for ourselves, but for others…to minister to the great need that is financial self-sufficiency as powered by education. And we will always be so very grateful to our community for its continued support of our mission, and our work.
I hope you enjoy this issue of REACH. And if you REALLY want to celebrate, please join us from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1 at Panther Island to show that you’re TCC PROUD. Help us get our next 50 years off to a rip-roaring start! I hope to see you there.
