Friday, June 14, 1996

Ground broken for state's first public/private university partnership

By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press

THE WOODLANDS - Top administrators from six universities broke ground Thursday for Texas' first public-private partnership that will allow students to earn degrees from any of those schools without actually visiting the main campuses.

The so-called University Center, based at Montgomery College south of Conroe, will bring to the relatively new community college the resources of Texas A&M University, University of Houston, University of Houston-Downtown, Prairie View A&M University, Sam Houston State University and Texas Southern University.

"For more than 20 years, north Houston community leaders have looked forward to building an upper-level university in the area," John Pickelman, chancellor of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District, said. "Now citizens won't have just one university. They'll have six."

Some 45 bachelor's and master's programs initially will be offered at the $11 million, three-story center. Montgomery College opened just last August, the latest branch of the North Harris Montgomery district that also includes schools in north Houston, Kingwood and Tomball.

With nearly 20,000 students and another 12,000 taking adult-education courses, the community college is the seventh-largest in the state.

"The heavy hitters are involved in this," said Barry Thompson, chancellor of the Texas A&M System. "I think this is the harbinger of the future."

"This is the wave of the future and the most economical way to deliver higher education," added former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, now chancellor of the University of Houston System, which has two schools involved in the project. "The state of Texas is embarking on a new adventure in higher education."

Students also will be able to take courses at the Montgomery County school, by cable and over-the-air television, videotape or through the internet to earn degrees.

"It's extremely important, and we're pleased to participate," James Gilmore, vice president for academic affairs at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, said. "This looks like the cutting edge."

As part of the symbolic sharing among the schools, not only did the administrators break ground, they also mixed in buckets of dirt from the home campuses of each of the universities. Texas A&M, for example, brought dirt from Kyle Field. The University of Houston brought dirt from outside its library.

Voters in the community college district cleared the way for the project when they approved a $78 million bond issue.

Mitchell Energy & Development Corp.'s Woodlands Corp., developer of the residential community where the college is located, donated 10 acres of land and $2 million.

"I really think this is a model the whole state should use," George Mitchell, chairman of Mitchell Energy, said.