Dallas College El Centro Campus (El Centro or ECC) 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 ''Öffentlichkei ...

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 sec ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It is part of

Dallas College Dallas College is a public community college with seven campuses in Dallas County, Texas. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting, continuing education, and adult education programs. Dallas College offers associate d ...

. The campus is located at 801 Main Street in

downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has tradit ...

, in the former

Sanger Harris department store building The Sanger Harris department store building was the downtown store of the Sanger Harris department store chain (now part of Macy's). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is currently the El Centro College at Dallas College ...

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Dallas College El Centro Campus became the flagship campus of Dallas College in 1966, when it first opened. Its Spanish name reflects the center of the downtown area and it is a

Hispanic-Serving Institution A Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) is defined in federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) stude ...

(HSI) and a member of the

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities A Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) is defined in federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) stude ...

(HACU). El Centro's location allows students from all parts of

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

to take advantage of core educational courses transferable to four-year institutions, as well as career training in more than 50 fields and a variety of continuing education and workforce education courses. Many of the degree plans offered at El Centro specialize in the medical and technological fields including nursing, culinary/pastry/hospitality, and fashion design and marketing.

Campuses

El Centro has grown from just one campus in downtown Dallas to three campuses in the central section of the city: El Centro main downtown campus, Bill J. Priest campus and West Dallas campus. Two additional buildings are now part of the downtown campus – the R building, which once was home to DCCCD district offices, and the Paramount building, where El Centro's Center for Allied Health and Nursing is located. The Paramount building is located in the West End. The Downtown campus also houses the

Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School (LECHS), formerly Middle College High School, is a public high school located at El Centro College in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. It was est ...

. In 2016, El Centro leased over 50,000 square feet on the 10th and 11th floors of nearby

One Main Place (Dallas) One Main Place is a mixed-use skyscraper hotel and office building at 1201 Main Street in Dallas, Texas. The building rises . It contains 33 above-ground floors, and was completed in 1968. One Main Place currently stands as the 27th-tallest bui ...

for the college's growing architecture, digital art, engineering, fashion design, fashion marketing, and interior design programs. The West Dallas Campus is a one-stop location close to home to register for classes. Students can meet with an adviser, register for classes, and speak to a financial-aid adviser all at the West Campus. El Centro’s West Campus is the only college presence in West Dallas. The Bill J. Priest campus offers a variety of programs, such as welding courses, workplace skills, job search assistance, career exploration, and industrial maintenance.

2016 shooting

On July 7–8, 2016, the college was affected by a

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...

targeting police officers. The gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, who by that point had killed four officers, fled inside the college. Two police officers working with the school were wounded while Johnson attempted to make entry inside a school building. After gaining entry through another route, Johnson stationed himself in an elevated position and was able to kill a fifth officer standing outside the college. After evacuating the building, police officers engaged Johnson in an hours-long standoff. Johnson was eventually killed by a robot-delivered bomb, which also damaged the school's servers. The college cancelled all classes on July 8 and became a crime scene for investigators until July 20 and 21, when it partially reopened to faculty and students.

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges in Dallas Downtown Dallas Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Dallas College Two-year colleges in Texas