North Central Texas College (NCTC) is a 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 sec ...
in
Gainesville, Texas
Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,002 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Texoma region and is an important Agri-business center.
History
Founded in 1850, the city of Gain ...
. It serves
Cooke County,
Denton County
Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establis ...
, and
Montague County, Texas
Montague County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, established in 1857. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,965. The county seat is Montague. The county was created in 1857 and organized the next year. It is named for ...
.
History
As with many of the early community colleges, NCTC began as an extension of the local
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
. In NCTC's case, a branch of the
Gainesville Independent School District known as Gainesville Junior College was proposed by Superintendent
Randolph Lee Clark, who previously started a junior college that later became
Midwestern State University
Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts.
History
Founded in 1922 as ...
. The Gainesville college was established May 20, 1924, and held its first classes in the fall of that year.
For the first 22 years of the school's existence, it shared the same building with Gainesville High School, also sharing teachers and administrators (not until 1957 were separate teachers hired for the college). In 1946 a building located next to the high school was purchased and the college had its own building.
However, by the mid-1950s the college grew to the point that sharing space with the high school was no longer practical. Local citizens passed a bond issue to build separate facilities for the college. However, discussions took place as to whether a separate entity, apart from the Gainesville ISD, should be created (including assessment of 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 inheri ...
to support it). With the support of citizens such as W.T. Bonner (who donated the first of the current campus and later sold more to the college), Cooke County voters approved the creation of the new district, and Gainesville Junior College became Cooke County Junior College (the Junior was later dropped in the 1970s). In 1994, the institution's name was changed to North Central Texas College to reflect its increasing instructional offerings in two Denton County cities—Lewisville and Denton.
During this time, NCTC operated under a "gentlemen's agreement" with the other junior colleges, and thus no separate schools were formed in neighboring
Denton and
Montague Counties.
In 1992, president Ronnie Glasscock led the school to two major accomplishments. First, the "gentlemen's agreement" was codified into state law (however, neither Denton nor Montague are included in NCTC's tax base). Second, Glasscock lobbied for a name change, realizing that Cooke County College would handicap the college's effort to be a true regionally focused college. He was successful, and on June 1, 1994, the Regents voted to change the college's name to its current designation.
In January 2000, NCTC opened a branch campus in Bowie (to serve Montague County). The citizens of Bowie voted a 1/2 cent sales tax increase to build the , $2.196 million facility. NCTC also opened the Corinth campus (to serve Denton County) at the same time.
A historical marker outside the Administration Building claims that NCTC is the oldest continuously operating public community college in Texas, having been approved for operations in May 1924. This is based on the fact that several junior colleges which predate NCTC in terms of its opening either ceased operations (temporarily or permanently), were not founded as public institutions, or later became four-year colleges.
*Stephenville College started in 1893 as a private institution, and became a public college in 1898. However, financial troubles led to its buyout by
Texas A&M
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 ...
in 1917, and it ultimately became
Tarleton State University
Tarleton State University is a public university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 14,000 students in the fall of 2020.
History
John Tarleton Agricultural ...
.
*Decatur Baptist College started in 1898. It moved to Dallas in 1965 and became
Dallas Baptist University
Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a Christian liberal arts university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst.
History
Dallas Baptist Uni ...
.
*El Paso Junior College (no relation to the current
El Paso Community College
El Paso Community College (EPCC) is a community college district headquartered in El Paso, Texas, United States. EPCC operates five campuses in the Greater El Paso area, as well as courses offered at nearby Fort Bliss.
As defined by the Texas Le ...
) opened in 1920. It ultimately became the
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...
.
*Wichita Falls Junior College, which also has historical ties to Randolph Clark, opened in 1922. It ultimately became
Midwestern State University
Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts.
History
Founded in 1922 as ...
.
*South Park Junior College opened in 1923. It ultimately became
Lamar University
Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, th ...
.
*Four junior colleges (
Carr-Burdette College in
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
, Clifton College in
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
, Gunter College in
Gunter, and Wesley College in
Greenville), all of which opened prior to NCTC, permanently ceased operations.
*
Weatherford College
Weatherford College (WC; officially Weatherford College of the Parker County Junior College District) is a public community college in Weatherford, Texas, with branch campuses in nearby Wise County, and Granbury.
Organization and administrati ...
in
Weatherford dates its history back to 1869, and can claim the title of oldest two-year college in Texas. However, it began as a
Masonic
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
institution and later became a
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 b ...
school, operating as a four-year institution until 1921 when it reorganized as a two-year college. Even so, it was operated as a private institution until 1949 when Parker County took over operations.
*
Hill College
Hill College is a public community college in Hillsboro, Texas. It opened its doors in 1923, one year before North Central Texas College, which is the oldest continuously-operating community college in Texas because Hill College was closed d ...
opened in 1923, and has always operated as a public two-year college. However, Hill College ceased operations in July 1950 (though it never lost its charter to operate) and eventually re-opened in September 1962.
*
Jacksonville College
Jacksonville College is a private junior college in Jacksonville, Texas. It is the only accredited junior college in Texas that is privately owned and operated, owned by the Baptist Missionary Association of America, with additional financial su ...
in
Jacksonville, Texas
Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County, and pa ...
, opened in 1899 and has operated continuously since that time. However, like Weatherford College, it operated as a four-year college until 1918 when it reorganized as a two-year college. Also, Jacksonville College has never been a public institution, having been owned and operated by a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
denomination or organization since its founding.
Campuses
![North Central Texas College June 2017 38](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/North_Central_Texas_College_June_2017_38.jpg)
The original location, the Cooke County Campus, is in
Gainesville and is the main campus. NCTC maintains full-service campuses in
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
and
Bowie, with branch campuses in
Denton,
Flower Mound
Flower Mound is an incorporated town located in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located northwest of Dallas and northeast of Fort Worth adjacent to Grapevine Lake, the town derives its name from a prominent mound locat ...
, and
Graham
Graham and Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan ...
.
Organization and administration
The current chancellor of NCTC is Dr. Brent Wallace. Dr. Wallace previously served as the vice-president of Instruction.
As defined by 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 ...
, the official service area of NCTC consists of the following:
*all of
Cooke
Cooke is a surname derived from the occupation of cook. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alexander Cooke (died 1614), English actor
* Alfred Tyrone Cooke, of the Indo-Pakistani wars
* Alistair Cooke KBE (1908–2004), British-American j ...
and
Montague counties, and
*all of
Denton County
Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establis ...
excluding the cities of
Frisco and
The Colony, and those portions of the county included within the
Carrollton-Farmers Branch,
Celina, and
Prosper {{wiktionary, prosper
Prosper may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places in the United States
* Prosper, Minnesota, an unincorporated community
* Prosper, North Dakota, an unincorporated community
* Prosper, Oregon, an unincorporated community
* Prosper, Texa ...
school districts.
*The
Young County section of
Graham Independent School District
Graham Independent School District is a public school district based in Graham, Texas, United States.
Located in Young County, a very small portion of the district lies in Stephens County.
In 2009, the school district was rated "academically ...
Student life
Sports
![North Central Texas College June 2017 25 (Lions Field House)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/North_Central_Texas_College_June_2017_25_%28Lions_Field_House%29.jpg)
The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Lions. The lions compete in the
North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference
The North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference (NTJCAC) is a junior college athletic conference for many technical and community colleges in the state of Texas, sponsored by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Conference ...
of the
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 ...
. North Texas Central College offers athletic scholarships in baseball, softball, volleyball, and women's tennis.
Bus accident
On September 26, 2014, four members of the North Central Texas College Lions women's
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
team died, and 15 others suffered injuries, when the bus in which they were passengers was struck by a
tractor-trailer
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...
near
Davis, Oklahoma
Davis is a city in Garvin and Murray counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 2,683 at the 2010 census.
History
Davis is named after Samuel H. Davis, who moved to Washita in what was then Indian Territory in 1887. At the time ...
.
The four players who died were Brooke Deckard, Jaiden Pelton, Meagan Richardson, and Katelynn Woodlee. Three of the players died at the scene; the fourth at a hospital.
According to
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) is a major state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. A division of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, the OHP has traffic enforcement jurisdiction throughout the state. OHP was legislat ...
Capt. Ronnie Hampton, the tractor-trailer crossed the median into the southbound lane on Highway 35, and both the bus driver, who is also the coach, and the driver of the tractor-trailer underwent toxicology tests, and the incident was treated as a
homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
.
Notable people
*
J. R. Towles, former baseball
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
for the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
.
*
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...
, Hall of Fame
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
basketball player.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Community colleges in Texas
Education in Cooke County, Texas
Education in Denton County, Texas
Education in Montague County, Texas
Educational institutions established in 1924
Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Universities and colleges in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
1924 establishments in Texas
Two-year colleges in the United States