1944 | Wharton County leaders, members of a Post-War Planning Committee, conceived the idea of Wharton County Junior College. | ![]() |
1945 | A County Junior College Committee was formed and citizens approved a 20-cent tax. | |
1946 | On April 6, voters of Wharton County created the Wharton County Junior College District and elected the first Board of Trustees: F.J.L. Blasingame, Wharton; Donald M. Duson, El Campo; J. R. Peace, East Bernard; Lottie N. Mullins, Boling; Richard E. Meek, Louise; Carl Reynolds, Glen Flora; and Harold Hansen, Danevang. In September, classroom instruction began with approximately 200 students housed in five Wharton County Fairground buildings, located at the corner of Boling Highway and Alabama Road. John Milton Hodges became President of Wharton County Junior College. | |
1948 | On June 7, Wharton County voters approved a $600,000 tax bond to acquire permanent college facilities. | |
1948 | Friends of the college donated a 20-acre site at Boling Highway and Alabama Road for campus construction. | |
1954 | Congressman Clark Thompson visited the campus. Playwright Horton Foote consulted with drama students on the production of The Rocking Chair. The Wharton County Junior College Foundation was formed. |
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1962 | Travis M. McKenzie became President of Wharton County Junior College. | |
1966 | Theodore Nicksick, Jr., became President of Wharton County Junior College. | |
1967 | College officials purchased the Wharton County Fairground for campus expansion. | |
1968 | Congressman George Bush visited the Wharton campus. | |
1969 | Congressman Jake Pickle visited the Wharton campus | |
1970 | On July 18, voters extended the boundaries of the Wharton County Junior College District to include the Needville Independent School District and a Needville resident was appointed to the Board of Trustees, increasing Board membership to eight. | |
1974 | CBS Newsman Dan Rather spoke to WCJC students. | |
1980 | WCJC began offering day classes in Richmond/Rosenberg at B. F. Terry High School. | |
1983 | WCJC opened a Satellite Campus in Richmond. | |
1984 | Elbert C. Hutchins became President of Wharton County Junior College. | |
1985 | WCJC, with funds provided by the George Foundation, purchased land for a permanent campus in Richmond/Rosenberg. | |
1990 | The Sugar Land campus opened. | |
1994 | Frank Robert Vivelo became President of Wharton County Junior College. WCJC began offering classes at the Marine Education Center in Palacios. |
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1996 | The LaDieu Technology Center opened on the Wharton campus. WCJC joined forces with the University of Houston and Houston Community College System to open a multi-institution teaching center at the Sugar Land CentraPlex. The Board of Trustees approved the purchase of the Sugar Land CentraPlex Building. Board of Trustees increased its size to nine members. |
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1999 | The WCJC Bay City Technical Education Center opened at the Testengeer Building to house the college's Process Technology program. | |
2000 | Playwright Horton Foote visited the college to speak with drama students as the Fine Arts Department presented A Year of Horton Foote. | |
2001 | Betty A. McCrohan became President of Wharton County Junior College. The WCJC Fort Bend Technical Center (FBTC) Richmond campus opened. |
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2002 | Congressman Ron Paul visited the Wharton campus. | |
2005 | WCJC's service area expanded to include Sugar Land and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Congressman Tom DeLay visited the WCJC Fort Bend Technical Center. |
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2007 | The Bay City campus opened. | |
2009 | The Sugar Land campus relocated to a new building at the University of Houston System at Sugar Land. | |
2010 | Southern Association Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Reaffirms Wharton County Junior College |