SECTION AA

BASIC DISTRICT FOUNDATIONS
COLLEGE DISTRICT LEGAL STATUS

COLLEGE DISTRICT LEGAL STATUS

Navarro College District derives its legal status from the Constitution of the State of Texas and from the Texas Education Code that authorizes a public junior college and/or district of any one of the following classifications:

  1. Independent school district junior college.
  2. City junior college.
  3. Union junior college.
  4. County junior college.
  5. Joint-county junior college.
  6. Public junior college as a part or division of a regional college district.

A public junior college shall be defined as an institution of higher education.

HISTORY

Navarro County voters approved the creation of Navarro Junior College in a general election held July 16, 1946 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. Classes began in September 1946.

In 1951, the campus was moved to its present location, a 47-acre tract west of downtown Corsicana on State Highway 31. The campus has expanded to 103 acres with 23 buildings. In 1954, Navarro was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The accreditation was reaffirmed in 1964, 1974, 1985, 1995, 2006, and again in 2017.

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 campus locations in Mexia and Waxahachie, TX.

In January 2006, a new campus in Midlothian, TX opened to better serve students in the Midlothian area. In 2013, Navarro established a campus in Fairfield, TX with a focus primarily on vocational and technical programs to serve communities in Freestone, Limestone, and Leon counties. The Fairfield campus was closed in 2019.

 Mr. Ray Waller, was the founding president and served until his death in 1956; Dr. Ben W. Jones served from 1956 until 1973; Dr. Kenneth P. Walker served from 1974 until 1988; Dr. Gerald E. Burson served from 1989 until his retirement in January 1998; and Dr. Richard Sanchez served from 1998 until his retirement in 2013. Dr. Barbara Kavalier, the sixth District President, served from 2013 until her resignation in 2016.

Dr. Richard Sanchez came out of retirement to serve as Interim Chancellor through August 2016 and served as the seventh District President until August 2018.  Dr. Kevin G. Fegan, the eighth and current District President, was appointed September 2018.

Date Issued: January 22, 2015

Reviewed/Updated: December 12, 2019