Bill Text: TX HR1818 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Houston Community College.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-05-21 - Reported enrolled [HR1818 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HR1818-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1818 |
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WHEREAS, The Houston Community College System is marking its | ||
40th anniversary in 2011, and this occasion presents an ideal | ||
opportunity to recognize this outstanding institution; and | ||
WHEREAS, In early 1971, voters in the Houston Independent | ||
School District approved a community college district that would | ||
share the district's facilities; initial course offerings that fall | ||
centered around occupational and technical training, and academic | ||
courses were added the following January; within three years, the | ||
initial enrollment of approximately 5,700 students had nearly | ||
tripled; and | ||
WHEREAS, Enrollment increased rapidly through the 1980s, and | ||
HCC officially separated from HISD in 1989, gaining taxing | ||
authority and its own elected board of trustees; following a | ||
restructuring in 1991, the president of HCC became system | ||
chancellor with responsibility for five regional colleges and the | ||
College Without Walls; an innovative partnership between the City | ||
of Stafford and HCC enabled the construction of the Southwest | ||
College, and in 1999 the system celebrated the opening of the new | ||
Northeast College campus, the West Loop Center, and the John B. | ||
Coleman Building for Health Sciences, which later became the | ||
Coleman College for Health Sciences, replacing the College Without | ||
Walls; and | ||
WHEREAS, By 2001, HCC was ranked the second largest community | ||
college in the nation by Community College Week, and the subsequent | ||
passage of a $150 million bond set the stage for continued growth; | ||
HCC received an Achieving the Dream grant from the Bill and Melinda | ||
Gates Foundation in 2004 to expand the system's groundbreaking | ||
programs designed to improve college completion rates for | ||
low-income and minority students; and | ||
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Spangler became the seventh chancellor of | ||
HCC in 2007, and under her skillful leadership, the system has | ||
continued to flourish, reaching a record enrollment of 72,000 | ||
students for spring 2010; today, HCC has six full-service colleges, | ||
and its 22 instructional sites serve an area of more than 600 square | ||
miles; it offers academic courses for transfer to four-year | ||
institutions, as well as terminal degrees and certificates in more | ||
than 70 fields of work; in addition, it provides continuing | ||
education and corporate training, lifelong learning and enrichment | ||
programs, and the largest adult education program in Texas; the | ||
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has rated 26 of the | ||
system's workforce programs "exemplary"; and | ||
WHEREAS, Over the past four decades, Houston Community | ||
College has proven a powerful force for educational opportunity and | ||
economic development, and it has enriched the lives of countless | ||
students; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding | ||
of Houston Community College and extend to all those associated | ||
with this notable institution sincere best wishes for continued | ||
success; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for Houston Community College as an expression of high | ||
regard by the Texas House of Representatives. | ||
Murphy | ||
S. Davis of Harris | ||
Fletcher | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1818 was adopted by the House on May | ||
19, 2011, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||