Texas Southmost College (TSC) is a public
junior college
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
located in
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...
.
History
Early history
Texas Southmost College was established in 1926 under the name of The Junior College of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, as a subsidiary of the
local school district in Brownsville. On September 21, 1926, 84 students began classes, meeting in the old Brownsville High School. From 1928 to 1948, it was located in Brownsville High School and Brownsville Elementary School on Palm Boulevard between Washington Street and Jefferson Street. Despite hard times during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the college continued to maintain nominal levels of enrollment.
The name of the college changed in 1931 to Brownsville Junior College then again to Texas Southmost College in 1950. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
due to wartime mobilization enrollment dwindled, with the number of graduates halved from 1943–1945. A major improvement came in 1948 when the city of Brownsville acquired the lands formerly comprising the decommissioned army base known as
Fort Brown
Fort Brown (originally Fort Texas) was a military post of the United States Army in Cameron County, Texas, during the latter half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Established in 1846, it was the first US Army military ...
, which had been closed in 1946.
By 1948, when the college had an enrollment of around 1,250 students, their own campus, and a generous budget, talks had started within the school district about creating a separate district for the college. It was decided that the new district would cover southern
Cameron County. In 1950, on the silver anniversary of the college, the Brownsville Independent School District handed over the deed to the college over to the newly formed Southmost Union Junior College District.
1950s to 1990s
The Texas Southmost College athletics program flourished in the 1950s: the school had football, basketball, boxing and track teams and many of these teams won accolades for their performance. In the mid- to late 1960s, the TSC athletic program experienced a great decline and many competitive programs did not survive into the 1970s. In the 1960s, despite the declining competitive situation of the sports programs, the college gained the Rancho Del Cielo research center, located 300 miles south of Brownsville, in Mexico. This few acre research center has abundant plant life and
rain forest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...
climatic conditions. In 1973 Texas Southmost College began offering its first bachelor's degree programs and graduate courses in cooperation with Pan American University (later known as
University of Texas–Pan American
, mottoeng = Education, the Guardian of Society
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public university
, endowment = $65 million
, president = Havidan Rodriguez (int ...
and located in
Edinburg, Texas
Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 74,569 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and in 2019, its estimated population was 101,170, making it the second-largest city ...
). This was the origin of the entity known as Pan American University at Brownsville, which worked independently from Texas Southmost College.
In the late 1980s, Pan American University created a partnership with the
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...
and the entity in Brownsville became known as The University of Texas–Pan American at Brownsville. Texas Southmost College and The University of Texas–Pan American at Brownsville combined their educational functions as The University of Texas at Brownsville on September 1, 1991. This created the
University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College. After 1991, UTB/TSC continued to grow, eventually boasting over 10,000 students. On November 2, 2004, voters in the Texas Southmost College district voted yes to a $68-million bond package so the college could do a number of building projects.
End of educational partnership with the University of Texas at Brownsville
On November 10, 2010, the University of Texas System Board of Regents voted to end the University of Texas at Brownsville's educational partnership with Texas Southmost College as it stood. On February 17, 2011, the TSC Board of Trustees voted 4-3 to separate from UTB.
On August 31, 2015, UTB was officially dissolved and UTPA's name was changed to The
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas and is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas ...
.
Presidents
Presidents of Texas Southmost College
*Jesus R. Rodriguez 2017–Present
*Michael E. Shannon 2016–2017
*Lily F. Tercero 2011–2016
*
Juliet V. García 1986–2011
*Robert Phillips 1985–1986
*Albert Besteiro 1977–1985
*Arnulfo Oliveira 1971–1977
*William Walton 1970–1971
*Quentin Bogart 1968–1970
*C. J. Garland 1953–1968
*John Barron 1950–1953
Presidents of Brownsville Junior College
*John Barron 1945–1950
*Ben Brite 1941–1945
*E. C. Dodd 1934–1941
*G. W. Gotke 1931–1934
Presidents of Junior College of the Lower Rio Grande Valley
*G. W. Gotke 1928–1931
*Thomas J. Yoe 1926–1928
References
External links
*
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Community colleges in Texas
Education in Cameron County, Texas
Education in Brownsville, Texas
Educational institutions established in 1926
Buildings and structures in Brownsville, Texas
1926 establishments in Texas