Tarrant County College is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and marking five decades as one of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s leading workforce development partners.
The chamber will honor TCC with the Chairman’s Spirit of Enterprise Award at the organization’s 133rd annual meeting June 5 at the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel.
“With its vast range of degrees, certifications and training programs, Tarrant County College offers pathways to success” throughout the county’s expanding universe of business and industry, said Chamber President and CEO Bill Thornton. “TCC plays a core role in delivering the 21st-century, knowledge-based workforce that’s essential for global competition.”
Serving more than 100,000 students annually, TCC is the 15th largest higher education institution in the United States. It becomes only the second higher education institution to be honored with the Spirit of Enterprise Award. The chamber saluted Texas Christian University with the award in 2006 in recognition of the competitive edge generated for economic development through TCU’s intellectual capital.
The award, initiated in 1975, recognizes local enterprises for outstanding contributions to the development of the community. Selected by the four most recent chairmen of the Fort Worth Chamber, the recipient is chosen for contributions to the advancement and prosperity of the city as well as a commitment to the preservation of the American private enterprise system.
“We are most pleased to be recognized by the chamber with the 2015 Spirit of Enterprise award,” said TCC Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley. “Our college understands the importance of cooperation among area entities as we work together to provide programs that create well-trained, workforce-ready employees who have the skills needed to keep our region at the top of the growing economies of the world.”
With countywide voter approval, Tarrant County Junior College was established on July 31, 1965 (renamed TCC in 1999). South Campus opened in 1967 with 4,272 first-term students – the highest opening-day enrollment of any U.S. community college at that time. Hadley was a faculty member, beginning her career with TCC.
Northeast Campus followed (1968), then Northwest (1976), Southeast (1996), Trinity River Campus (2009) and Trinity River Campus for Health Care Professions (2011).
Betty Dillard
bdillard@bizpress.net