Published: December 03, 2005 01:03 am      

PJC plans new Greenville campus

Facility would double student capacir\ty

GREENVILLE — Plans for a new community college campus on 172 acres adjacent to Greenville High School were announced by Paris Junior College on Friday.

“This will make available expanded vocational and technical training for Greenville High School and other area high schools,” said Dr. Pamela Anglin, Paris Junior College president. “We’ll also have the land to build an expanded campus as enrollment warrants.”

She said ground could be broken on the project by the end of 2006 with classes at the new center as soon as Fall, 2007.

The announcement was hailed by PJC officials and by other business and education leaders present at the press conference at the Fletcher Warren Civic Center, which was also attended by U.S. Congressman Ralph Hall.

Hall said he was still working to secure funding for improvements to Monty Stratton Parkway, which will connect the campus to Interstate 30.

He also said the level of cooperation on the behalf of the local community could be a lesson for Washington politicians.

“If only we could work together the way you have here in Hunt County, we could get some things done,” Hall said.

Hall specifically named State Representative Dan Flynn, State Senator Dr. Bob Deuell and Hunt County Judge Joe Bobbitt as positive influences.

SHW Group of Dallas will develop a master plan for Phase I of the PJC-Greenville Center expansion which will double student capacity to 2,000. The chosen site also offers the possibility of multiple buildings and expanded programs in the future.

“Having a full-scale community college will be wonderful from an educational point of view, but will also help attract people, industry and business,” Anglin said.

That statement was backed by glowing statements from several business leaders.

Greenville Board of Development chairman Dee Hilton said it was a tremendous opportunity to further expand educational opportunities in the area.

Hilton recalled that the building his company, Trust Services, Inc., now occupies in downtown Greenville was the first home for PJC-Greenville. When the first campus opened in what is commonly called the Henson Building in 1994, enrollment stood at 70 students. The most recent figures at the present facility on FM 1570 show 1,065 students.

“Statistics show people of all ages now change jobs and careers more than in the past,” Hilton said, noting his own career change from the furniture business to asbestos claim processing.

“This larger facility will help meet the needs not only of the 17-year-olds and 18- year-olds, but of people in the 40s and 50s,” Hilton said. “

“It will give students a chance to build on their desire for a lifetime of learning.”

He also said the campus would help put Greenville on the map in the same way a professional sports franchise might raise the profile of a major city.

Greenville Realtor Rosalyn Lane addressed the group as the board chairman of the North Central Texas Workforce Commission.

“I’m absolutely excited about it. Just like the Industrial Park and the Airpark, this will be part of an education complex,” Lane said. “It will help keep young people in our community, and offer opportunities to senior citizens as well.”

She noted that even two years of education past high school can lead to twice the annual earnings.

“This is going to result in increased earning power in Greenville and Hunt County,” she said.

Realtor Charlie Patterson’s Century 21 office helped negotiate the purchase of the property.

“If you stay in real estate long enough, you’re going to get to do something really important,” Patterson said. “I can’t think of anything that could happen to Greenville that would be more important than this.”

Patterson said the details of the transaction were handled by agent Terry Driggers, who said it was an honor to bring the parties together to such a good community goal.

The Regents want to be prepared to meet the needs of the citizens of Greenville and Hunt County,” Dr. Anglin said. “It is important that this be the community's college.”

Enrollment has continued to increase at PJC-Greenville since the college moved to the new campus in 1998 with 505 students.

“With this fall’s enrollment of 1,065 students, we felt it was time to take another giant step in providing the best higher education opportunity possible for the people of Greenville and Hunt County,” Anglin said.

“Today, we offer nearly 200 different classes at the Greenville Center.”

Dr. Anglin pointed out that PJC is an open-door community college offering access to higher education for many who would otherwise be left without the college experience. She added that students in Greenville could earn an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees, as well as certificates of completion in vocational and technical programs.

“Your acceptance of PJC and its Greenville Center as a strong, viable and affordable place to begin a college education or complete a technical program is encouraging — and truly makes this the community’s college,” Anglin said.