Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

based in

Athens, Texas Athens is a city and the county seat of Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 12,857. The city has called itself the " Black-Eyed Pea Capital of the World." Athens was selected as one of t ...

. It has four campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state.

About

TVCC operates four campuses serving the Texas counties of Anderson, Henderson,

Van Zandt Van Zandt, van Zandt or Vanzandt, is a surname of Dutch language, Dutch origin. Van Zandt or its variants may refer to: People *Van Zandt Williams (1916–1966), President of the Optical Society of America and Director of the American Institute ...

Rains Rains may refer to: Surname *Rains (surname) Places * Rains, South Carolina, an unincorporated community in Marion County, South Carolina * Rains County, Texas, a county in East Texas Entertainment * ''The Rains'', a 2016 zombie novel by Gregg Hu ...

, and Kaufman, southeast of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: *The Henderson County Campus, which also serves as TVCC's headquarters, is in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

. *The Anderson County Campus is in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

. *The Kaufman County Campus is in Kaufman. This was the former site of the Health Science Center from 1986-2019. *The TVCC Health Science Center is in Terrell. It also operates a

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually i ...

program for the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

's RN to BSN program. As defined by the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US 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 powerful a ...

, the official service area of TVCC is the following: *all of Anderson, Henderson, Kaufman and

counties, *the territory of the Terrell Independent School District located within

Hunt County Hunt County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 99,956. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named for Memucan Hunt, Jr., the first Republic of Texas Minister to the United States from ...

, and * Van Zandt County, excluding those portions within the

Grand Saline Grand Saline is a city in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States, located in East Texas. The population was 3,136 as of 2010. Grand Saline is the third largest city in Van Zandt County and is located roughly 75 miles (120 km) east of Dallas an ...

, Lindale, and

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

independent school districts.

History

TVCC was founded in 1946 as Henderson County Junior College in Athens, the county seat. The current name, adopted in September 1986, was taken from the Trinity River, which bisects the region. By that time it had expanded to serve residents of more than one county. TVCC began its expansion to a multi-site campus in 1969 when it began to offer courses at a nearby

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...

unit. * In 1972, courses in Palestine were held for the first time and in 1975 TVCC opened a separate campus facility three miles north of Palestine (the Anderson County seat). * In 1973 TVCC started offering courses in Terrell (its first expansion into neighboring Kaufman County) and opened a separate campus facility there in 1986. * In 1983 TVCC opened its first specialized campus, the TVCC Health Science Center in Kaufman (the Kaufman County seat). As of 2020, the site no longer holds Health Science courses. * Starting in 2020, TVCC moved the Health Science Center to the former Renaissance Hospital site in Terrell. One of the buildings at the campus holds High School dual credit courses for Health Science in partnership with Terrell ISD. Entrance to 'Cardinal Grill' located in the Student union

Entrance to 'Cardinal Grill' located in the Student union

Notable alumni and persons affiliated with TVCC

* Margene Adkins, professional football player in the NFL * Darren Benson, professional football player in the NFL * Matt Bryant, placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League * Rock Cartwright, professional football player in the NFL *

Albert Connell Albert Gene Anthony Connell (born May 13, 1974) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Washington Redskins and the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, and for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian ...

, professional football player in the NFL * Paul Dawson, college football All-American *

Anthony Dickerson Anthony Charles Dickerson (June 9, 1957 – March 21, 2019) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Southern Methodist University. Early ye ...

, professional football player in the NFL * Todd Fowler, professional football player in the USFL and NFL * Al Harris, professional football player in the NFL * Robert Jackson, professional football player in the NFL * Tramain Jones,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

* Shawn Kemp, professional basketball player in the NBA 1989-2003 * Roger Muñoz, member of the Nicaragua men's national basketball team *

John Randle John Anthony Randle (born December 12, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was a six-time first-tea ...

, professional football player in the NFL and Hall of Famer *

James Scott James Scott may refer to: Entertainment * James Scott (composer) (1885–1938), African-American ragtime composer * James Scott (director) (born 1941), British filmmaker * James Scott (actor) (born 1979), British television actor * James Scott (Sh ...

, professional football player in the NFL *

James Surls James Arthur Surls (born 1943) is an American modernist artist and educator, known for his large sculptures. He founded the Lawndale Alternative Arts Space at the University of Houston in the 1970s. Biography James Arthur Surls was born April ...

, sculptor. * Nick Van Exel, professional basketball player in the NBA 1993-2006 * Betty Lennox, of the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded ...

Miami Sol The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon G ...

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real e ...

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

and

Tulsa Shock The Tulsa Shock were a professional basketball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Detroit, Michigan before the 1998 WNBA season began ...

in the Women's National Basketball Association ( WNBA), played for the Trinity Valley Community College Lady Cards basketball team during her sophomore year in 1997. *

Derrick Willies Derrick Willies (born October 17, 1994) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Texas Tech and played professionally for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Ear ...

, professional football player in the NFL * Todd Staples, former Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, is a former faculty member at the Palestine campus.

References

External links

Official website

{{authority control Education in Anderson County, Texas Education in Henderson County, Texas Education in Kaufman County, Texas Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Community colleges in Texas Two-year colleges in the United States NJCAA athletics 1946 establishments in Texas