Tyler Junior College

Duane's take

The official marker's got the story, and here's my telling of it. Now, some institutions just kind of appear, fully formed, like they were always there. Tyler Junior College wasn't quite like that.

It had to grow into itself, and that growing took some doing. The college was established in 1926, right in the thick of what you'd call the formative years of the junior college movement in Texas. It started out as an extension of the Tyler public school system, with the school superintendent himself, a man named G.

O. Clough, serving as its first president. That's the kind of origin story where the school and the town were practically the same thing.

Then World War II came along, and wars have a way of shaking institutions loose from what they were. Several new programs came to the college during those years. But here's the thing about Tyler Junior College.

The real growth, the kind that changes the shape of a place, that came after the war. In 1945, voters established a new independent junior college district, governed by a locally elected ten-member board of trustees. The people of Tyler decided this college was theirs, and they voted to make it so.

A bond election followed, and it succeeded, and with that success came vision. A noted Tyler architect by the name of Shirley Simons drew up a campus plan. Now that plan had an inventive streak to it.

It called for the reuse of several surplus buildings from nearby Camp Fannin, giving those old structures a new purpose, and it included the first new college facility, later named Jenkins Hall. The curriculum grew right alongside the buildings, expanding to offer a broader range of coursework to the students. By seventy-five years after its establishment, Tyler Junior College had become something to behold.

A 78-acre campus. Thirty buildings. Eight residence halls.

The district reaching out from Tyler into the surrounding communities, carrying the college's impact well beyond city boundaries and into the east Texas region. The marker puts it plainly, and I think it earns the plainness: the growth and success of Tyler Junior College can be attributed to visionary leadership from the presidents and the boards of trustees, a dedicated faculty, and a generous citizenry. Started as a school superintendent's side project in 1926.

Ended up as a cornerstone of east Texas. Some things grow exactly as big as the people behind them will allow.

What the marker says

Tyler Junior College was established in 1926 during the formative years of the junior college movement in Texas. This institution began as an extension of the Tyler public school system with school superintendent G. O. Clough serving as its first president. World War II stimulated several new programs at the college, but the greatest growth came in the post-war years. In 1945, voters established a new independent junior college district governed by a locally elected ten-member board of trustees. After a successful bond election, noted Tyler architect Shirley Simons designed a campus plan, which included the reuse of several surplus buildings from nearby Camp Fannin and the first new college facility, later named Jenkins Hall. A curriculum expansion accompanied the growth in facilities to offer a broader range of coursework to the students. Seventy-five years after its establishment, Tyler Junior College encompasses a 78-acre campus with 30 buildings and eight residence halls. The district includes Tyler and surrounding communities, allowing the college's significant impact to extend beyond city boundaries into the east Texas region. The growth and success of Tyler Junior College can be attributed to visionary leadership from the presidents and the boards of trustees, a dedicated faculty and a generous citizenry. (2001)