JANUARY 2023

NEWS & UPDATES

Celebrating 129 Years

January 9, 2023, signified a momentous occasion in the life of Texas College – the 129th Anniversary of the Historically Black College's founding. Founded in 1894 by a group of CME ministers to educate a disenfranchised population, Texas College has served as a beacon of hope and opportunity for the East Texas region and beyond, providing educational opportunities for the past 129 years. As the College embraces the 129th year, it does so with determination and commitment to continuing its mission for the next 129 years.

To commemorate the occasion, please see below for A Brief Historical Overview of Texas College, as well as a video. Happy 129th Anniversary, Texas College!

A Brief Historical Overview

VIEW A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Happy Birthday, Texas College

Celebrate with a Gift

In honor of this historic occasion, celebrate the 129th Anniversary of Texas College with your meaningful gift of $129 to help support and fulfill the College's mission. Selfless financial contributions as such are undoubtedly paramount in sustaining the College and further helps to ensure 129 more years of providing educational opportunities to all. Contributions may be made online at www.texascollege.edu/give or by clicking the purple button below.

Thank you for your continued support; may God continue to bless Texas College and each of you richly!

GIVE ONLINE NOW

Founders' Convocation

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 15, to join Texas College in person for the annual Founders' Convocation to celebrate this momentous occasion and achievement of 129 years.

Texas College Partners with

CVS Pharmacy and Southside Bank

The relationship between higher education and the business world has advanced from simply delivering entry-level employees into the workforce pipeline. Organizations across industries have begun to recognize the value of employing a workforce that is committed to continual growth and development. In this regard, the 2022-2023 academic year at Texas College will mark the beginning of expansive opportunities for students interested in medical, business, and other corporate careers.

The CVS Scholarship Program will open doors to supporting partnership opportunities that will lead to professional development and career pathway relationships for Texas College students with CVS. The components of the initiative propose to have varied opportunities of participation that provide mutual benefits for both CVS and Texas College in the immediate and long-term future. The general thrust of the initiative will address select needs and complimentary services with support of students, community residents, faculty-staff, and CVS associates in the Tyler, Texas/East Texas region. For CVS and Texas College, the ultimate interests of the project are to establish ways to recruit, retain, and retrain suitable individuals from program entry at Texas College to career pathway employment opportunities with CVS Corporation.

The Texas College partnership with Southside Bank will support programming and scholarships for the Division of Business, as well as initiate new collaboration by students’ participation in education and mentoring activities. The current business leadership program will expand academic growth by providing direct exposure to commercial banking and introduce individuals to the industry through a formal curriculum, interaction with executives, industry mentors, and commercial banking internships. The contribution aligns with Southside Bank’s strategic focus on elevating education and workforce readiness initiatives.

Both of the aforementioned initiatives are dedicated to career advancement of graduates by combining classroom learning with interactive professional experiences. Texas College is elated to receive the support of corporate leaders as a way of not only shaping tomorrow’s leaders, but to broaden students’ horizons and enrich their learning experience.

Celebrating the Legacy of

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech at the 1963

Washington D.C. Civil Rights March.

In celebration of Rev. Dr. King's legacy and his monumental contributions to society, Texas College will observe the Martin Luther King Holiday on Monday, January 16, 2023; offices will be closed during this observance, but will reopen on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at their regularly scheduled times.

Additionally, to commemorate the holiday and recognize Rev. Dr. King’s colossal impact, a message from President Fennell is provided below. Moreover, a variety of Rev. Dr. King's speeches are provided for review on the Texas College website. These may be accessed by clicking the purple button below.

Message from President Fennell

VIEW REV. DR. KING'S SPEECHES

Texas College Gives Back for Christmas

Miss Kai'Lyn Primus, 2022-2023 Miss Texas College, delivers a prayer at the Angel Tree and Toy Drive gifting event.

On Wednesday, December 7, the Texas College Family gifted local children from 150 families with new toys for Christmas. What has now become a Christmas tradition on campus, the Angel Tree and Toy Drive is an annual initiative coordinated by the reigning Miss Texas College and is made possible through the generous donations of faculty, staff, and most notably students.

Embodying Texas College's core value of community service, students led the charge with this initiative. Selflessly, the students went into their own pockets to ensure that every child received what they asked for, and even more. "I know what it's like to grow up without much," commented one student. "With this, I have an opportunity to give back and make someone's Christmas great and give them exactly what they wanted."

The gifts were made available for pickup by the families in Texas College’s McKinney Hall Connector. However, this event was not a mere distribution process; instead, Miss Kai'Lynn Primus, 2022-2023 Miss Texas College, ensured that the occasion was a family affair to not soon be forgotten. Alongside holiday music provided by the Choir, the Connector was transformed into a winter wonderland with Christmas décor; Miss Primus even arranged for the children to take photographs Santa Claus and his elves. While the families retrieved their gifts and posed for pictures with Santa Claus, students, faculty, and staff served hot chocolate, cookies, candy canes, and other traditional Christmas treats.

Texas College Choir Spreads Holiday Cheer

Members of the Texas College Choir performs at "A Christmas to Remember."

On Monday, December 5, the Texas College Choir assembled in downtown Tyler in the lobby of the Plaza Tower to kick off the holiday season. Festively dressed in red and green sweaters, the Choir presented "A Christmas to Remember," which featured classic holiday songs, as well as a multitude of gospel numbers.

This free community event was well-received by Tylerites, as members of the community filled the lobby for this merry concert. Harmoniously, the Texas College Choir graced the crowd's ears with their myriad of voices, spreading holiday cheer throughout the venue. In addition to their own performances, "A Christmas to Remember" also featured a special guest - national gospel recording artist Jessica Reedy. Aptly named, the event was undoubtedly one to remember for Christmases to come.

Steer Football Welcomes Early Signees

Head Football Coach Jarrail Jackson has been hitting the recruiting trail hard, and it shows. Although National Signing Day is February 1, Texas College Football has already secured four key recruits for the upcoming 2023 season. However, he is nowhere near done. Coach Jackson anticipates to expand his 2023 class of incoming Steers on February 1 and looks to sign approximately 35 new student-athletes. These incoming Steers will play an important role in building the Texas College Steer Football program. See below for current football commits.

2022 Home Depot Retool Your School

Project Completed

Texas College is pleased to announce that the 2022 Home Depot Retool Your School Campus Improvement Project has been completed. The project encompassed the renovation of a total of five locker rooms: Football (football complex), Men’s Basketball (Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium), Volleyball (Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium), Women’s Basketball (Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium), as well as a visitors’ locker room (Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium). This renovation project included the installation of new lockers, locks, seating, flooring, paint, clocks, stereos, logo wall decals, wooden hangers, trash receptacles, and dry erase boards.

In addition to the locker room renovations, the project also extended to the enhancement of the athletic weight room, as well as visual branding enhancements to the football practice field and the main hallway of the Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium dressing facility. Specifically, these enhancements included branded locker room exterior signage, a Texas College Steers lettering wall decal (Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium dressing facility main hallway), a branded Texas College Steers banner (football practice field), and new mirrors (athletic weight room).

Thank you, again, to alumni, students, faculty, and staff of Texas College for your hard work and dedication to voting in the 2022 Home Depot Retool Your School Grant Program competition. Your determination and indefatigable spirit made this possible. With outstanding support of the Tyler Home Depot’s Assistant Store Manager, Mr. Joe Leach, the completion of this project was coordinated by a committee comprised of Dr. Dwight J. Fennell, Mrs. Angelia Fennell, Mr. Jake Martin, and Mr. Anthony Parker. See below for before and after visuals.