Odessa College
 |
|
| Type | Publicjunior college |
|---|---|
| Established | August 29, 1946[1] |
| President | Gregory D. Williams[2] |
| Students | 7,995 (all undergraduate) Fall 2023[3] |
| Location |
,
,
United States
|
| Campus | 80 acres (0.32 km2)[1] |
| Colors | Blue and White[4] |
| Nickname | Wranglers[4] |
| Affiliations | Western Junior College Athletic Conference[4] |
| Mascot | "Willie" the Wrangler[4] |
| Website | odessa.edu |
Odessa Collegeis apublicjunior collegeinOdessa, Texas. The college serves the people ofEctor Countyand thePermian Basin. It was established in 1946 and enrolled 8,024 students in Fall 2021 and 7,679 students in Spring 2022 in its university-parallel and occupational/technical courses, and 11,000 students annually in its Basic Education, Continuing Education, and Community Recreation courses.
History
[edit]Odessa College was founded in 1946 asOdessa Junior College.[5]The college dropped "Junior" from its name around 1976.[6]
As defined by theTexas Legislature, the official service area of Odessa College is the following:[7]
- all ofAndrews,Brewster,Crane,Culberson,Jeff Davis,Loving,Presidio,Reeves,Upton,Ward, andWinklercounties, and theSeminole Independent School District, located inGaines County.
The Pecos Technical Training Center is an extension of Odessa College, located at 1000 S. Eddy St,Pecos, Texas. It first opened its doors in the summer of 1999.
Odessa Junior College was featured in the Supreme Court casePerry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593 (1972).
In 1999, an Odessa doctor and his wife donated a 27,000-square-foot (2,500 m2) building in Pecos to house the new Pecos Technical Training Center of Odessa College. After renovations to the building made possible by an $860,000Economic Development Administrationgrant, the center now houses administrative and faculty offices, technical and vocational learning labs and a student lounge. The new center enables Odessa College to improve and expand its long-established extension education program in Pecos.
In 2011, Odessa College, along withFrank Phillips CollegeinBorger,Ranger CollegeinRanger, andBrazosport CollegeinLake Jacksonwere proposed for closure by the State of Texas. The Texas Association of Community Colleges rallied successfully to keep the four institutions open.[8]
Athletics
[edit]Odessa College participates in theWestern Junior College Athletic ConferenceConference of theNational Junior College Athletic Associationin multiple sports. To date, the Odessa sports programs have won 46 National Junior College Athletic Association titles, making them the most winning program in the association.[9]11 sports are currently active: Men's and Women's Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Golf, Rodeo, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Dance, Cheerleaders, and Trainers. In 1970 thewomen's tennis teamwon the third national collegiate championship of theUnited States Lawn Tennis Association. In the first annual National Junior College Golf Tournament on June 2–5, 1959, Odessa College almost made a complete sweep of the honors with Jerry Lackey winning the individual championship with a score of 290 while Les Howard and Melvin Chisum took home the 1st-place trophy in the team competition. In 1968 Gail Sykes won the national intercollegiate individualwomen's golfchampionship. During the basketball season, Odessa College broadcasts the men's and women's Western Junior College Athletic Conference road games and the home games withMidland Collegeon the radio.
Notable alumni
[edit]- Abraham Ancer, professionalgolfer
- Bonner Bolton,Professional Bull Riders,Championship Bull Riding2007 World Champion,Dancing with The Stars2017
- Craig Ehlo, professional basketball player
- Josh Gray, professional basketball player
- Larry Johnson, professional basketball player
- Rich Loiselle, professional baseball player
- Joe Melson,singerand songwriter
- Ty Murray, seven-timeProfessional Rodeo Cowboys AssociationWorld All-Around Champion; two-time World Bull Riding Champion, co-founder of theProfessional Bull Riders, Dancing with the Stars Season 8,ProRodeo Hall of Fameinductee
- Moochie Norris, professional basketball player
- Roy Orbison, songwriter and musician
- Jim "Razor" Sharp, two-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Bull Riding Champion, co-founder of the Professional Bull Riders
- Stephnie Weir,actressandcomedian
- Kathy Whitworth, professional golfer
See also
[edit]- Bill Noël, local industrialist who supported the college
References
[edit]- ^ab"Odessa College". Texas State Historical Association. RetrievedDecember 19,2011.
- ^"Welcome to OC from the President".Odessa College. www.odessa.edu. RetrievedSeptember 2,2018.
- ^"College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics".
- ^abcd"Staff Directory".Odessa College. RetrievedSeptember 2,2018.
- ^1949-1950 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide. Dallas: The Dallas Morning News. 1949. p. 419.
- ^Texas Almanac, 1976-1977. Dallas: The Dallas Morning News. 1975. p. 514.
- ^Texas Education Code, Section 130.193, "Odessa College District Service Area".
- ^"Letter to the Honorable Joe Straus"(PDF). tacc.org. January 24, 2011. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on March 4, 2016. RetrievedSeptember 15,2015.
- ^"OC is the most winning school in the NJCAA".WranglerSports.com.
External links
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