Kilgore College
Motto | Emphasis Excellence |
---|---|
Type | Community college |
Established | 1935 |
Endowment | $16 million |
President | Dr. Brenda Kays |
Students | 5000+ credit hour; 3700+ non-credit |
Location |
1100 Broadway, Kilgore, Texas, USA, 75662 32°22′37″N 94°52′21″W / 32.377056°N 94.872600°WCoordinates: 32°22′37″N 94°52′21″W / 32.377056°N 94.872600°W |
Colors | Blue and Gray |
Nickname | Rangers |
Affiliations | Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) |
Website | www.kilgore.edu |
Kilgore College (KC) is a community college located in Kilgore, Texas, approximately 120 miles east of Dallas, Texas, and 70 miles west of Shreveport, Louisiana. It has an annual enrollment in excess of 5,000 students, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the Associate's Degree. The school was established in 1935 at the height of the East Texas oil boom, and as such, is home to the East Texas Oil Museum which houses a large collection of memorabilia documenting this period of Texas history.
Kilgore College has one of the lowest costs per credit hour of any college or university in Texas.[1][2] In addition to academics, the school has programs that include various musical ensembles, The Flare newspaper and men's and women's athletics. KC is also known for their athletic programs, including a football team that has more wins than any other NJCAA team in Texas, including an outright NJCAA championship in 1966, and a national poll championship in 1978.
The group most people associate with the college are the Kilgore College Rangerettes, the first precision dance team in the world, created in 1940 by Gussie Nell Davis. The Rangerettes have performed internationally, including annually at the pregame and half-time of the Cotton Bowl Classic, several Dallas Cowboys games, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and more than a few U.S. Presidential inaugurations.
The college has an exceptional band which numbers between 100 and 125 members each year. Organized in 1936, the Ranger Band has performed in Venezuela, France, Hong Kong, Macao, Korea and Romania, as well as the Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Shrine East-West Game, Kiwanis Bowl (Norfolk, VA), American All-Star Game (Tampa, FL) six Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades, and the inaugural parade for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jr.
In June 1986, the Texas Shakespeare Festival opened its inaugural season at Kilgore College; the festival has called KC home for what will be 32 consecutive summers in 2017. The college provides financial support and facilities for the festival, which is a vital cultural asset for all of East Texas.[3]
College service area
As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of KC includes territory within the following school districts:[4]
- Big Sandy Independent School District
- Carlisle Independent School District
- Gilmer Independent School District
- Gladewater Independent School District
- Hallsville Independent School District
- Henderson Independent School District
- Kilgore Independent School District
- Laneville Independent School District
- Leverett's Chapel Independent School District
- Longview Independent School District
- Mount Enterprise Independent School District
- New Diana Independent School District
- Overton Independent School District
- Pine Tree Independent School District
- Sabine Independent School District
- Spring Hill Independent School District
- Tatum Independent School District (except the part of the district that is located in Panola County
- Union Grove Independent School District
- West Rusk Independent School District
- White Oak Independent School District
Notable alumni
- Lyle Alzado, professional football player[5]
- Erwin Cain, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Sulphur Springs[6]
- Rodney Carrington, comedian[7]
- Van Cliburn, pianist. Van Cliburn Auditorium in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center is named for him.[8]
- Ricardo Colclough, professional football player
- Ricky Collins, current CFL wide receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Jorge Diaz, former professional football player
- Francisco Elson, professional basketball player
- Kevin Everett, professional football player
- John Hill, former Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court of Texas
- Lane Johnson; professional football player; Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL
- Derrick Lewis (fighter), football player; professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the UFC[9]
- Dwayne Stovall, Cleveland, Texas business man and school board member; a Republican primary candidate against John Cornyn for the United States Senate in the primary election on March 4, 2014[10]
- Marvin White, professional football player
- Demorrio Williams, professional football player
- Jason Williams (born 1983), basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the National Basketball League of Israel
- Darren Woodard, professional football player
- Marcus Thornton, professional basketball player, Houston Rockets of the NBA
- LeJuandro 'Kai' Zeiglar an American Football player in the now defunct Arena Football League.
Kilgore College gallery
- East Texas Oil Museum (established 1979) is located on the Kilgore College campus.
- Baptist Student Center at Kilgore College
- Randolph C. Watson Library
- Masters Gymnasium
- Student Center
- Kilgore College operates a branch campus in Longview.`
References
- ↑ KC: An Exceptional Value, Kilgore College, 24 July 2009.
- ↑ Community College Costs, 2008–2009, CollegeForTexans.com (archived at waybackmachine.org), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. accessed 19 December 2009.
- ↑ "Texas Shakespeare Festival History". Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ Texas Education Code, Section 130.184, "Kilgore Junior College District Service Area".
- ↑ "ESPN Classic – Not the size of the dog in the fight". go.com. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ↑ "About Erwin". erwincain.com. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
- ↑ http://www.kilgore.edu/theflare/archives/flare_oct282005.pdf
- ↑ Texas Shakespeare Festival performance locations
- ↑ "Derrick Lewis UFC Bio". Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ↑ "Proud to Be Texan". texansforstovall.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
External links
- Media related to Kilgore College at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website