Blinn College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. Brenham is Blinn's main campus, with dormitories and apartments.

History

Blinn was established as Mission Institute in 1884 by the Southern German Conference of the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

denomination. It became coeducational in 1888 when it began admitting women. In 1889, the institute's name was changed to Blinn Memorial College in honor of the Reverend Christian Blinn of New York, who had donated a considerable sum of money to make the school possible. In 1927, the Board of Trustees, under leadership of President Philip Deschner, organized a junior college. In 1930, Blinn merged with

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

of Georgetown,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. In 1934, a new charter was procured by the citizens of Brenham, and a private nonsectarian junior college was organized as Blinn College with nine regents as the board of control. In February 1937, all connections with Southwestern University and the Methodist denominations were severed. On June 8, 1937, voters in Washington County levied a

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inhe ...

for the creation of a public junior college district. Blinn thus became the first county-owned junior college district in Texas. The college continues to operate as one of the largest of some fifty public

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

districts in Texas. After some early struggles (including the campus nearly closing in 1946 due to fiscal issues), the college began to grow and do well under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Morris Spencer, one of the early public junior college pioneers in Texas. When he left the college in 1957 it was on a firm fiscal footing. The Bryan campus was established in 1970, and by the early 1980s, a third campus opened in College Station. In 1997, the Villa Maria Road campus opened consolidating the programs that were located in the Townshire Shopping Center in Bryan and the Woodstone Center in College Station. The third Brazos County site, located in the former Bryan post office, continues to house the dental hygiene, radiologic technology, and workforce education programs. The original three buildings on the Bryan campuses were expanded to six, and in 2002, the former Schulman Theater was purchased and converted to classroom space, known as the College Park Campus (CPC). The Schulenburg campus opened in 1997 and Sealy in 2005. In 2017 Blinn College collaborated with

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

on the university's newly constructed RELLIS Campus at

Bryan Air Force Base Bryan Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in unincorporated Brazos County, Texas, located just west of Bryan. Today, the location houses The Texas A&M University System RELLIS Campus. Bryan Air Force Base was originally ac ...

. (RELLIS is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

of "Respect", "Excellence", "Leadership", "Loyalty", "Integrity", and "Selfless service".) Blinn College expected to invest $34 million in the site. The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...

ceremony for the Blinn College educational building took place on March 31, 2017.,

Service area

According to the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ar ...

, Blinn's service area includes the counties of Brazos, Burleson,

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has i ...

, Madison,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and Waller. It serves

Austin County Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s. Austin ...

except for sections in Wallis-Orchard ISD, Fayette County except for sections in Smithville ISD, and Lee County except for sections in Elgin ISD. Additionally it serves sections of the counties of: * Bastrop (portions in Lexington ISD) * Milam (portions in Gause ISD, Lexington ISD, and Milano ISD) * Montgomery (portions in Richards ISD) *

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

(portions in

Bryan ISD Bryan Independent School District is a public school district based in Bryan, Texas ( USA). It also serves rural areas in northern Brazos County, and a small portion of Robertson County. Within Brazos County it includes Bryan, Kurten, Lake ...

, Franklin ISD, Hearne ISD, and Mumford ISD) *

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

(portions in Richards ISD) * Willamson (portions in Lexington ISD)

Academic transfer

Blinn boasts the highest transfer rate in the state of Texas, sending students to institutions such as

, Sam Houston State University,

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

, the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. Its transfer rate to four-year universities is 49% compared to the state average of 27%. Blinn transfers more students to Texas A&M University than any other two-year college. Blinn technical students score among the best in the state on board and licensure exams. Blinn and

established the first co-enrollment program of its kind with the TEAM (Transfer Enrollment at Texas A&M) Program. In 2013, the program was awarded the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Recognition of Excellence, and in 2014 it received the THECB Star Award.

Community impact

A 2014 study found that Blinn made a $345.3 million impact in its service area, including $239.5 million in added income by former students employed in the regional workforce, $61.3 million in College operations spending and $44.5 million in student spending. The report found that Blinn has made an impact of $247.4 million in Bryan-College Station, $83 million in Brenham, $11.1 million in Schulenburg and $3.9 million in Sealy. Blinn has also been recognized for its community service. In 2011, Blinn received the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Community Engagement Classification, and in 2012 it was the only community college in the state of Texas to be named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Each year, Blinn devotes a day to community service, called the Blinn Blitz, and hundreds of students participate in local community service projects.

Athletics

The home campus in Brenham has offered intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and has won 30 national championships since 1987. The Blinn Buccaneers play football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball. The football program won

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

championships in 1995, 1996, 2006, and 2009, the last of which was won with

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...

. The volleyball team won the NJCAA championship in 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2014. The softball team consistently makes the national tournament. Blinn's award-winning cheer and dance teams won the UCA and UDA National Championships in 2014 and 2015.

Notable alumni

* Chris "Birdman" Andersen, professional basketball player *

Josh Ashton Josh Ashton Jr. (August 24, 1949 – October 4, 1993) was a professional American football player who played running back for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New England Patriots and St. Louis Cardinals The St. Lo ...

, professional football player * John Baker, professional football player *

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowding ...

, Major League Baseball Player, MVP 1979 *

Josh Beckett Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A three-time MLB All-Star, he played for the Florida Marlins, the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. After ...

(class of 1999), MLB Pitcher, World Series MVP (2003), ALCS MVP (2007), 2-Time World Series Champion, Pitched a No-Hitter (2014) * James Beckford, won silver medal in

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

at 2004 Olympics *

Big Moe Kenneth Doniell Moore (August 20, 1974 – October 14, 2007), better known by his stage name Big Moe, was an American rapper from Houston, Texas. Early life Kenneth Doniell Moore was born in Houston, Texas on August 20, 1974, and he grew up ...

, rapper * Michael Bishop, professional football player, quarterback in the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, former Kansas State All-American * Lyle Blackwood, professional football player * Chris Brazzell, professional football player * Eric Brown, professional football player *

Shockmain Davis Shockmain Nastase Davis (born August 20, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver. He attended Angelo State University. Professional career Davis was originally signed by the New England Patriots of the NFL in 2000 as an undrafted fr ...

, professional football player *

Tim Denton Timothy Jerome Denton, Sr. (born February 2, 1973) is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League. He played for the Washington Redskins in 1998 and 1999, and he played for the San Diego Chargers in 2000. Denton wa ...

, professional football player * Danny Gray, professional football player * Mike Green, professional football player *

Roderick Green Roderick Green (born April 26, 1982) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Central Missouri. Green also played for the San Fr ...

, professional football player * Marion Grice, professional football player *

Ty Hardin Ty Hardin (born Orison Whipple Hungerford Jr.; January 1, 1930August 3, 2017) was an American actor best known as the star of the 1958 to 1962 ABC/ Warner Bros. Western television series ''Bronco''. Early life Hardin was born in New York City ...

, actor on

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

'' * Chris Johnson, professional football player *

James Johnson James Johnson may refer to: Artists, actors, authors, and musicians *James Austin Johnson (born 1989), American comedian & actor, ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member *James B. Johnson (born 1944), author of science nonfiction novels *James P. John ...

, professional football player *

Dan Kubiak Daniel James Kubiak (March 19, 1938 – August 30, 1998) was an educator and businessman from Rockdale, Texas, who served as a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1969 to 1983 and again from 1991 until his death in off ...

(Class of 1959), State representative from Rockdale, 1969-1983 and 1991-1998 * Oliver Lafayette, professional basketball player * Abraham Louis Levin (Class of 1903), physician and inventor of the Levin Tube which is still widely used in surgery *

Tim Montgomery Timothy Montgomery (born January 28, 1975) is an American former track sprinter who specialized in the 100-meter dash. In 2005, he was stripped of his records—including a now-void men's 100-meter world record of 9.78 seconds set in 2002—a ...

, sprinter,

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, 1999 World Championships 400-meter relay gold medals *

Quincy Morgan Quincy Demond Earl Morgan (born September 23, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos. With the Steelers, he won ...

, former professional football player; wide receiver in the NFL, former Kansas State All-American * Shane Nelson, former professional football player of the Buffalo Bills *

, 2010 Heisman Trophy winner after transfer, where he won the

2011 BCS National Championship Game The 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season. The finale of the 2010–2011 Bowl Championship Series was ...

with the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

. Number 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, and 2015

NFL MVP The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizati ...

. * Damion Ratley, professional football player *

Khiry Robinson Khiry Robinson (born December 28, 1989) is an American football running back for the Tiburones de Cancún of the Fútbol Americano de México (FAM). Robinson signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He graduated from ...

, professional football player; running back in the NFL for the New York Jets *

Bernard Scott Bernard Scott (born February 10, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Abilene Christian. His brother Daryl Richardson i ...

, professional football player *

Kendall Sheffield Kendall Sheffield (born May 30, 1996) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Ohio State, and selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round in the 2019 NFL Draft. High school career Sheffie ...

, professional football player * Godfrey Siamusiye, distance runner * Vantz Singletary, NFL and college football coach *

Tony Skinn Tony Oludewa Skinn (born February 8, 1983) is a NigerianAmerican basketball coach and former player. He played guard for the George Mason University Patriots from 2003–2006, later playing professionally for six years. Skinn is currently an as ...

, college basketball player *

Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...

, actor starred in '' E.T.''; attended the Bryan campus for one year * Leon Toubin, member of Blinn College's board of trustees * Justin Tuggle, professional football player *

Dede Westbrook Decrick De'Shawn "Dede" Westbrook (; born November 21, 1993) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma. He was drafted 110th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Jacks ...

, wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Heisman Trophy candidate for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

football team * James Wright, professional football player

References

External links

History

Service area

Academic transfer

Community impact

Athletics

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links