Dallas College El Centro Campus (El Centro or ECC) 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 ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is part of Dallas College. The campus is located at 801 Main Street in downtown Dallas, in the former Sanger Harris department store building listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Dallas College El Centro Campus became the flagship campus of Dallas College in 1966, when it first opened. Its Spanish name reflects the center of the downtown area and it is a

Hispanic-Serving Institution A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined in U.S. federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE ...

(HSI) and a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). El Centro's location allows students from all parts of Dallas County to take advantage of core educational courses transferable to four-year institutions, as well as career training in more than 50 fields and a variety of continuing education and workforce education courses. Many of the degree plans offered at El Centro specialize in the medical and technological fields including nursing, culinary/pastry/hospitality, and fashion design and marketing.

Campuses

El Centro has grown from just one campus in downtown Dallas to three campuses in the central section of the city: El Centro main downtown campus, Bill J. Priest campus and West Dallas campus. Two additional buildings are now part of the downtown campus – the R building, which once was home to DCCCD district offices, and the Paramount building, where El Centro's Center for Allied Health and Nursing is located. The Paramount building is located in the West End. The Downtown campus also houses the

Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School (LECHS), formerly Middle College High School, is a public high school located at El Centro College in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. It was es ...

. In 2016, El Centro leased over 50,000 square feet on the 10th and 11th floors of nearby One Main Place (Dallas) for the college's growing architecture, digital art, engineering, fashion design, fashion marketing, and interior design programs. The West Dallas Campus is a one-stop location close to home to register for classes. Students can meet with an adviser, register for classes, and speak to a financial-aid adviser all at the West Campus. El Centro’s West Campus is the only college presence in West Dallas. The Bill J. Priest campus offers a variety of programs, such as welding courses, workplace skills, job search assistance, career exploration, and industrial maintenance.

2016 shooting

On July 7–8, 2016, the college was affected by a

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

targeting police officers. The gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, who by that point had killed four officers, fled inside the college. Two police officers working with the school were wounded while Johnson attempted to make entry inside a school building. After gaining entry through another route, Johnson stationed himself in an elevated position and was able to kill a fifth officer standing outside the college. After evacuating the building, police officers engaged Johnson in an hours-long standoff. Johnson was eventually killed by a robot-delivered bomb, which also damaged the school's servers. The college cancelled all classes on July 8 and became a crime scene for investigators until July 20 and 21, when it partially reopened to faculty and students.

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges in Dallas Downtown Dallas Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Dallas College Community colleges in Texas Two-year colleges in the United States 1966 establishments in Texas Universities and colleges established in 1966