32 2011-2012
Your Parker County
www.community-news.com
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
◗ Weatherford College has
record-breaking enrollment By Katie Martinez The Community News
More than a century before Tarrant County College opened its doors in Fort Worth, Weatherford College was educating students in Parker County. As the oldest-running community college in the Southwest, the college has graduated and certified thousands with an operational mission to enrich people’s lives. Recent years have brought recordbreaking enrollment and the college isn’t shying away from the growth despite difficult economic conditions; it’s investing in the future. In addition to updates to the mansards and roofs on several of the buildings, the college is expanding its presence beyond the city and building oncampus to accommodate a growing student population. The new softball field, scheduled for completion in December 2011, will bring the college into compliance with Title IX federal gender equity regulations. A new 40,000-square-foot academic building will house 10 classrooms, eight laboratories, two lecture halls and a number of faculty offices. “I think within a year and a half, it’ll look like a brand new campus in
WEATHERFORD COLLEGE Main Campus 225 College Park Dr. Weatherford, TX 76086 817-594-5471 www.wc.edu
Granbury Campus 210 North Jones Granbury, Texas 76048 (817) 598-6392
Wise County Campus 307 South Cates Decatur, TX 76234 (940) 627-2690
Mineral Wells Campus 704 Hood rd. Mineral Wells, TX 76067 (940) 325-2591
Weatherford,” Kevin Eaton, college president, said. “I’m excited because I think the students will appreciate that. They’ll feel like they’re learning in a modern facility instead of one that looks 42-years old.” The Granbury campus welcomes its first students this year and construction on a new Wise County campus is expected to be completed by the Fall of 2012. The growth potential was there, Eaton said, and the college had to expand to accommodate the demand.
ABOVE RIGHT: Weatherford College in the process of receiving a facelift with new roofs and mansards on several buildings in the summer of 2011. RIGHT: Raney Wilson, Rick Mauch and John Johnson rehearse for Weatherford College’s production of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” in the spring of 2011. TOP: CHRISTOPHER AMOS BOTTOM: RANDY KECK
“Over the last two years, I’ve seen hundreds of students turned away because they can’t get into core courses that already are filled to capacity,” he said. “These new classrooms and labs will allow us to schedule more sections of those core courses, and we won’t lose as many students that need those classes to graduate.” The college offers certification and two-year degrees in a wide variety of career paths and evening and distance learning courses to accommodate working schedules. A Tech Prep program allows high school students to begin earning credits before the graduate and continuing education programs are catered toward working professionals. A full student catalog is available online at www.wc.edu.