Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students.

The Corsicana campus has strong ties with Texas A&M University–Commerce which has branches at the Navarro College campuses in Corsicana.{{cite web|title=Navarro Partnership|url=http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/university/campus/navarro/|website=Texas A&M University-Commerce|access-date=December 8, 2023|archive-date=September 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024955/http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/university/campus/navarro/|url-status=dead}}

History

In spring 1946, a group of local citizens met to form a steering committee for the purpose of establishing a junior college in Navarro County. In a general election held July 16, 1946, voters approved the creation of Navarro Junior College and authorized a county tax to help finance the institution. In that same election, voters chose a seven-member board of trustees to govern the college. The first students began classes in September 1946. Most of the 238 members of that first student body were returning veterans from World War II taking advantage of assistance available under the newly enacted GI Bill of Rights. The first campus of Navarro College was the site of the Air Activities of Texas, a World War II primary flight school located six miles (10 km) south of Corsicana.

In 1951, the campus was moved to its present location, a {{convert|47|acre|ha|adj=on}} tract west of downtown Corsicana on Texas State Highway 31.

In 1974, the college broadened its philosophy and purpose to encompass the comprehensive community-based educational concept, adding occupational education programs and implementing new education concepts including individualized and self-paced instruction and the use of audio-tutorial instructional media. In keeping with the new educational role, the word "junior" was dropped from the institution's name, and the official name Navarro College was adopted by the board of trustees. In an attempt to address the growing needs of its service area, which consists of Navarro, Ellis, Freestone, Limestone, and Leon counties, the college began offering courses in various locations in those areas in the early 1970s and eventually established two permanent centers, Navarro College South at Mexia and the Ellis County Center at Waxahachie. Later, a third and fourth off-campus centers were added in Midlothian and Fairfield.[http://www.navarrocollege.edu/about/college-history/ "Navarro College History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207010528/http://www.navarrocollege.edu/about/college-history/ |date=2014-12-07 }} Navarro College Website

=2014 Ebola controversy=

In October 2014, Navarro College received criticism for sending admission rejection letters to two prospective students from Nigeria because the college was "not accepting international students from countries with confirmed Ebola cases."{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/texas-college-rejects-nigerian-applicants-cites-ebola-cases-n226291|title=Texas College Rejects Nigerian Applicants, Cites Ebola Cases - NBC News|author=Dan Mangan|work=NBCNews.com|access-date=17 October 2014}} Nigeria was identified by the World Health Organization through the summer of 2014 with multiple confirmed cases of Ebola, but there had been no new Ebola cases (since early September).{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/10/15/navarro-college-in-texas-apologizes-after-rejecting-nigerian-applicants-over-ebola-fears/|title=Navarro College in Texas apologizes after rejecting Nigerian applicants over Ebola fears - The Washington Post|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=17 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/14-october-2014/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014192416/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/14-october-2014/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 14, 2014|title=Are the Ebola outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal over? Ebola situation assessment|publisher=World Health Organization|access-date=17 October 2014}} The rejected applicants lived in Ibadan, Nigeria, approximately 80 miles from Lagos, where the most recent infected cases were identified. The college offered an explanation on October 13, stating that the rejections were not a result of fears of Ebola, but that its international department had recently been restructured to focus on recruiting students from China and Indonesia. On October 16, college Vice-president Dewayne Gragg issued a new statement, contradicting the previous explanation and confirming that there had indeed been a decision to "postpone our recruitment in those nations that the Center for Disease Control and the U.S. State Department have identified as at risk."{{cite news|url=http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/local_news/article_16f89386-5569-11e4-ad23-27fb5a2c77f5.html|title=Navarro College says in a new statement it will postpone recruitment of students from countries at risk for Ebola - Corsicana Daily Sun: Local News|work=Corsicana Daily Sun|access-date=17 October 2014}}

Campus

The Corsicana campus has expanded to {{convert|103|acre|ha}} with 23 buildings. It is home to the Cook Education Center, which houses a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-diameter}} dome planetarium with seating for more than two hundred, tied with the University of Texas at Arlington for the largest planetarium in Texas.{{cite web|url=http://www.uta.edu/publications/utamagazine/winter_2006/stories.php?id=333|title=Polymers, protons and planets - UTA Magazine Online|access-date=17 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110232245/http://www.uta.edu/publications/utamagazine/winter_2006/stories.php?id=333|archive-date=2014-01-10|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cookplanetarium.us|title=Cook Center Planetarium|access-date=17 October 2014}} The Cook Education Center also contains the Pearce Collections Museum, home to many American Civil War artifacts as well as a western art collection.{{cite web|url=http://www.pearcecollections.us/|title=The Pearce Museum|access-date=17 October 2014}}

Organization and administration

As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of Navarro College includes all of Ellis, Freestone, Leon, Limestone, and Navarro counties.[https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code, Section 130.189, "Navarro College District Service Area"].

Academics

Navarro is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The accreditation was given in 1954 and reaffirmed in 1964, 1974, 1985, 1995 and again in 2006.[http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/webmemlist.pdf "Accredited, Candidate, and Applicant Institution List"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722052548/http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/webmemlist.pdf |date=2011-07-22 }} Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Page 24

Waxahachie Global High School is partnered with Navarro College, and set up in a way that students at Global can take classes at Navarro. Thus they can graduate from high school with an associate degree or transferable credits to a 4-year university along with their high school diploma.

Athletics

Navarro's athletics teams, nicknamed The Bulldogs, compete in the Southwest Junior College Conference of the NJCAA.{{Cite web|url=http://www.navarrocollege.edu/athletics/|title=Navarro College Athletics|website=www.navarrocollege.edu|access-date=2016-06-12}} Navarro offers athletic scholarships in the following sports for men: football, basketball, baseball and for women: soccer, softball, volleyball. In 2011, the baseball team won the NJCAA Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Bulldogs beat Central Arizona College, 6–4, on J.T. Files' walk-off home run in the tenth inning.

Perry D. "Peno" Graham Field (baseball){{cite web |url=http://www.navarrocollege.edu/athletics.php?sport=Baseball&id=4 |title=Navarro College - Succeeding Together |accessdate=2009-06-24 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527102829/http://www.navarrocollege.edu/athletics.php?sport=Baseball&id=4 |archivedate=2010-05-27 }}

=Cheerleading=

The Bulldogs also have a strong reputation for their coed cheer team. Since the year 2000, Coach Monica Aldama has led the program to 16 NCA National Championships in the junior college division, as well as six "Grand National" designations (a status awarded to the team with the highest overall score in competition).{{cite web| url = https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/pop-culture/2020/01/08/tiny-school-huge-spirit-a-new-netflix-docuseries-profiles-the-hardcore-cheerleading-of-texas-navarro-college/| title = New Netflix series profiles just how hardcore this Texas school's cheerleading squad can get| date = 8 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/cheer-netflix-documentary-monica-aldama-1481107|title=Who is Monica Aldama, the champion coach in Netflix's new docuseries 'Cheer'?|website=Newsweek|date=8 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/cheer-team-navarro-wins-2022-153035219.html|title=Cheer Team Navarro Wins 2022 National Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championships|last=Heching|first=Dan|date=|website=Yahoo! Sport|language=en|access-date=April 13, 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/navarro-college-celebrates-cheer-s-championship-victory/article_d80b6582-c26f-11ec-b353-ab5d3036ede5.html|title=Navarro College celebrates Cheer’s championship victory|last=Kormos|first=Michael|date=2022-04-23|newspaper=Corsicana Daily Sun|access-date=2023-03-18}} In 2020, the squad became the subject of a Netflix docuseries called Cheer.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/netflixs-cheer-is-the-documentary-that-hard-working-cheerleaders-have-long-deserved/2020/01/08/2f8ee890-2e59-11ea-bcb3-ac6482c4a92f_story.html|title=Netflix's 'Cheer' is the documentary that hard-working cheerleaders have long deserved|last=Stuever|first=Hank|date=2020-01-08|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2020-01-27}}

Notable people

File:J.D. Hammer (48053069338) (cropped).jpg]]

Jerry Harris, former Navarro College cheerleader, sex offender{{Cite web |date=2020-09-17 |title=Naperville Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charge for Allegedly Enticing Underage Boy to Produce Sexually Explicit Videos |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/naperville-man-arrested-federal-child-pornography-charge-allegedly-enticing-underage |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}
Willis Adams, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ADAMSWIL02 |title=Willis Adams |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024417/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ADAMSWIL02 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
Eddie Brown, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BROWNEDD02 |title=Eddie Brown |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024256/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BROWNEDD02 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
Keith Burns, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BURNSKEI01 |title=Keith Burns |publisher=databaseFootball.com |access-date=December 10, 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819123957/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BURNSKEI01 |archive-date=August 19, 2012 }}
Gabi Butler, Navarro College cheerleader signed to WWE
Keo Coleman, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COLEMKEO01 |title=Keo Coleman |publisher=databaseFootball.com |access-date=December 10, 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103042629/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COLEMKEO01 |archive-date=November 3, 2012 }}
Byron Cook, state representative from Navarro County{{cite web|url=http://www.navarrocollege.edu/news/navarro-college-approves-fairfield-center/brian_cook/|title=Representative Byron Cook|work=Navarro News|access-date=17 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020164700/http://www.navarrocollege.edu/news/navarro-college-approves-fairfield-center/brian_cook/|archive-date=20 October 2014|url-status=dead}}
Chris Davis, MLB player{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=davisch02|title=Chris Davis Stats|publisher=Baseball Almanac |access-date=December 10, 2012}}
DeMarcus Faggins, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FAGGIDEM01 |title=De marcus Faggins |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010053214/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FAGGIDEM01 |archive-date=10 October 2014 }}
Wasila Diwura-Soale, Ghanaian soccer player{{Cite news|date=13 August 2021|title=LSU's New Graduate: Diwura-Soale Will Play In Fall|work=Navarro Bull Dogs|url=https://navarrobulldogs.com/sports/wsoc/2021-22/releases/081321-LSU-s_New_Graduate-_Diwura-Soale_Will_Play_In_Fall|access-date=6 October 2021}}
Al Fontenot, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FONTEAL01 |title=Al Fontenot |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024534/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FONTEAL01 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
Cameron Giles, played basketball briefly, is now known as hip hop artist Cam'ron
Aaron Glenn, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GLENNAAR01 |title=Aaron Glenn |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022023648/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GLENNAAR01 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
JD Hammer (born 1994), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies
Brock Holt, utility player for the Boston Red Sox{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/holtbr01.shtml|title=Brock Holt|publisher=Baseball-Reference|access-date=11 April 2015}}
Ray Jacobs, four-time NFL All-Star{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=JACOBRAY01 |title=Ray Jacobs |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024414/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=JACOBRAY01 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
Durwood Keeton, American football player{{cite web |url=http://www.profootballarchives.com/keet00200.html |title=DURWOOD KEETON |publisher=profootballarchives.com |access-date=May 16, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908222953/http://www.profootballarchives.com/keet00200.html |archive-date=September 8, 2015 }}
Jermane Mayberry, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MAYBEJER01 |title=Jermane Mayberry |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024006/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MAYBEJER01 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
Stockar McDougle, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MCDOUSTO01 |title=Stockar Mcdougle |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024537/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MCDOUSTO01 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
Tano Tijerina, minor-league pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, 1993–1997, County Judge of Webb County, Texas, beginning January 1, 2015{{cite web|url=http://tanoforcountyjudge.com/?page_id=18|title=Meet Tano|publisher=tanoforcountyjudge.com|access-date=April 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428063305/http://tanoforcountyjudge.com/?page_id=18|archive-date=April 28, 2014|url-status=dead}}
Pat Williams, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WILLIPAT01 |title=Pat Williams |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024644/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WILLIPAT01 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}
J'Marcus Webb, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.arizonawildcats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30700&ATCLID=208226026|title=J'Marcus Webb Profile |publisher=The University of Arizona Wildcats Official Athletic Site|access-date=17 October 2014}}
Mark Wheeler, NFL player{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WHEELMAR02 |title=Mark Wheeler |publisher=databasefootball.com |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022023743/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WHEELMAR02 |archive-date=22 October 2014 }}

References

External links

[http://www.navarrocollege.edu/ Official website]

Category:Community colleges in Texas

Category:Education in Ellis County, Texas

Category:Education in Limestone County, Texas

Category:Education in Navarro County, Texas

Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Category:Universities and colleges in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1946

Category:1946 establishments in Texas

Category:Corsicana, Texas

Category:Waxahachie, Texas

Category:NJCAA schools

Category:Two-year colleges in the United States