Amarillo College

Infobox_University
name = Amarillo College
motto = Collegium Excellens
established = 1929
type = Community college
president= Steven W. Jones, Ph.D.
city = Amarillo
state = Texas
country = USA
undergrad = N/A
postgrad =
postgrad_label =
staff= N/A
free = N/A
free_label = Endowment
campus = Urban, 31 acres (.13 km²), Washington Street campus
nickname = Badger
colors = Blue and white
website= [http://www.actx.edu/ www.actx.edu]

Amarillo College (AC) is a two-year fully accredited community college in Amarillo, Texas with over 10,000 students that was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College. Amarillo College has a total of six campuses as of October 2005.

As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of AC includes all of Carson, Castro, Deaf Smith, Moore, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, and Swisher Counties. [Texas Education Code, Section 130.164, "Amarillo College District Service Area".]

History

Prior to 1929, Amarillo was the largest Texas city without a public college. George Ordway and James Guleke helped to introduce a house bill that would establish junior college districts in the Amarillo area. On July 16, 1929, AC became the first Texas junior college district to be organized independent of a school district. The first classes were held later that year in September. The college moved to its main campus on Washington Street in 1937.

In 1951, AC became the first publicly supported Texas college to admit blacks to undergraduate classes.

AC is one of the few community colleges in Texas without an athletic program.

Campuses

Washington Street Campus

The college's main and original campus is located near downtown Amarillo. As of 2005, the campus expands to nearly 31 acres with 17 buildings. It has its own radio and television studios which is home to the Texas Panhandle region's PBS member station, KACV-TV. The Amarillo Art Center is also located in this campus, opened in 1972, is a building complex with an art museum and concert hall.

West Campus

The West Campus was opened in 1966 in response to growing demand for allied health and occupational technology programs. The campus houses fifteen allied health programs that includes Associate Degree Nursing, Dentist Aide, Dental Hygiene, Emergency Medical Services Professions (Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technologists), Licensed Vocational Nursing, Medical Data Specialist, Medical Laboratory Technology, Nuclear Medicine Technology, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapy Assisting, Pharmacy Technology, Radiography, Radiation Therapy, Respiratory Care and Surgical Technology. The campus is located near Amarillo's hospital district.

Polk Street Campus

The campus is located in downtown Amarillo. In 1977, Amarillo College leased two gyms from the Amarillo Senior Citizens Association (ASCA), formerly of Amarillo High School and Elizabeth Nixson Junior High School. In 1996, the old Amarillo High School gymnasium was transformed into Business & Industry Center which houses an auditorium, an exhibit hall and classrooms for seminars, short courses, and computer training. The facility is used to workforce training for business and industry.

East Campus

In 1995, the Texas state legislature created Amarillo Technical Center after transferring Texas State Technical College's Amarillo facility to Amarillo College. In 2002, the campus was renamed Amarillo College East Campus.

The campus offers technology courses in Auto Collision, Automotive, Aviation Maintenance, Diesel Mechanics, Electronics, Fire Protection, Industrial Maintenance, Instrument and Control, and Safety and Environmental.

The campus is sparsely developed, consisting of old buildings from the TSTC days (which itself were donated when Amarillo Air Force Base closed) and a residential community called Highland Park Village (consisting of old military housing duplexes, from which the nearby school district takes its name), currently managed by the college.

Campuses outside of Amarillo

In 2000, Amarillo College started operating a campus outside of Amarillo in Dumas, Texas. The college opened a sixth campus in Hereford, Texas on August 29, 2005.

Notable alumni

*John C. Morgan, Medal of Honor recipient
*Ben Sargent, editorial cartoonist
*G. William Miller, Former United States Secretary of the Treasury and Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank.
*Larry Kenon, Former NBA player
*Susan Gibson, Songwriter and Vocalist, wrote "Wide Open Spaces" [Citation
title = AC One Step Toward Wide Open Spaces
url=http://www.actx.edu/index.php?module=article&view=16
accessdate = 2007-07-19]

References

*Handbook of Texas|id=AA/kca5|name=Amarillo College. Accessed on October 8, 2005.
*cite web
author=
year=
url=http://www.actx.edu/cr/index.php?module=article&view=23
title=Amarillo College Campuses
format=
work=
publisher=Amarillo College
accessdate=December 31
accessyear=2005

External links

* [http://www.actx.edu/ Amarillo College]
* [http://www.kacv.org/ KACV-TV's website]
* [http://www.kacvfm.org/ KACV-FM's website]