Howard College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

with its main campus in

Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Route 87 in Texas, U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20 in Texas, Interstate 20. The population was 26,144 at the ...

. It also has branch campuses in

San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...

and

Lamesa Lamesa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,674 at the 2020 census, down from 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado, Lamesa was founded in 1903. Mos ...

History

Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students began lessons in September 1946, in the hospital wing of the former Big Spring Army Air Force Bombardier School (later

Webb Air Force Base Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in West Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. Webb AFB was a maj ...

). Five years later the school moved to a site in southeast Big Spring which came to include an administration-classroom-library building, a practical-arts building, a greenhouse, a music building, dormitories, and a 10,000-seat stadium. The Lamesa campus was established in 1972 and the first class in San Angelo was held the following year. The school's name changed to Howard College by 1974. In August 1980 the school opened the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf on of the former Webb Air Force Base, and it took over a nursing program in San Angelo the following year.

Campus

The main campus occupies in Big Spring, with another near Stanton in Martin County for agricultural research, and a rodeo facility east of town. There are branch campuses in

, and at the SouthWest College for the Deaf in Big Spring; the college also offers programs at the Big Spring Federal Correctional Institute and the Eden Detention Center.

Organization and administration

The president is Cheryl Sparks. As defined by the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

, the official service area of Howard College is

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

, Dawson,

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

, Glasscock,

Sterling Sterling may refer to: Currency * The English penny, historically known as the ''sterling'' * Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom * Sterling silver, a grade of silver Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city whose al ...

, Coke,

Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian and American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted '' The Tom Green Show'', whi ...

, Concho, Irion, Schleicher,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Menard Menard may refer to: Places Canada *Menard River, a tributary of the Wawagosic River in Quebec, Canada United States * Menard County, Illinois ** Menard, Illinois * Menard County, Texas ** Menard, Texas * Menard–Hodges site, archaeological si ...

, and Kimble counties.

Academics

The college has 4,623 students of which 33% are full-time. It offers 41 majors in 17 programs and is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by The Commission on Colleges of the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

to award associate degrees.

Athletics

The college sports teams are nicknamed the Hawks. Howard College participates in Region 5 of the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...

, also known as the

Western Junior College Athletic Conference The Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) is a junior college athletic conference for many technical and community colleges within the Southwest states of Texas and New Mexico, sponsored by the National Junior College Athletic Associ ...

, in the following sports: baseball, softball, rodeo, men's and women's basketball, and cheerleading. The basketball and baseball games are broadcast locally on

KBYG KBYG (1400 AM, "Big 1400 AM") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits music format. Licensed to Big Spring, in the U.S. state of Texas, the station serves the Big Spring- Snyder area. The station is currently owned by Weeks Broadcasting, ...

AM 1400. After winning in 1991, Howard won the Junior College (JUCO) World Series a second time, in 2009, with a season record of 63–1.

Notable people

Brandon Claussen Brandon Allen Falker Claussen (born May 1, 1979) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Career Claussen graduated from Goddard High School in Roswell, New Mexico. He then attended Howard College in Big Spring, Texas. He was draft ...

, professional baseball player * Tyler Collins, professional baseball player * Joe Cooper, professional basketball player *

Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder ( ; born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Te ...

, professional basketball player * Jim Evans, professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player *

Ed Fortune Edmond Marmaduke Fortune (born November 23, 1932) is an American politician who served in the Florida House of Representatives. Fortune was born in Milton, Florida. He attended Howard College and is a pharmacist. He served in the Florida House ...

, politician * Rob Gray, professional basketball player *

Tarik Phillip Tarik Phillip (born August 10, 1993) is a British-American professional basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for West Virginia. Early life and high school Phillip was bor ...

(born 1993), professional basketball player *

Tanner Scott Tanner Alexander Scott (born July 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, and San Diego Padres. H ...

, professional baseball player *

Burch Smith Burch Taylor Smith (born April 12, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

, professional baseball player

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Community colleges in Texas Education in Dawson County, Texas Education in Howard County, Texas Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in San Angelo, Texas NJCAA schools 1945 establishments in Texas Universities and colleges established in 1945 Two-year colleges in the United States