What started as a dream decades earlier officially became a reality last Friday with Collin College’s Wylie campus ribbon cutting ceremony.
The idea of a campus serving southeastern Collin County became feasible on May 6, 2017. Voters approved a $600 million bond election to provide funds to build the Wylie campus, as well as other facilities in growing areas of the county.
Guest speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony in the campus’ conference center included trustee chairman Robert ‘Bob’ Collins, college president Neil Matkin, state representative Candy Noble, Wylie mayor Eric Hogue, Wylie ISD superintendent David Vinson and WISD trustee Heather Leggett.
Each spoke of the importance of the campus, the journey to make it a reality and the impact it would have on the community.
“We have incredibly strong partnerships in Wylie,” said Matkin. “When the college first began, the leaders of this city opened their high school doors to Collin College, affording the college the opportunity to offer classes in the evenings. This fall, we are thrilled to come full circle and open the doors of the Wylie campus with a wide variety of educational opportunities.”
Collins, one of the college’s founding trustees, emphasized the importance of a quality education within reach to all.
“One of Collin College’s longstanding goals has been to provide excellent, affordable higher education available throughout our service areas, he said. “This beautiful new campus is fulfilling that goal in Southeastern Collin County.”
Classes began at the 100-acre campus on Aug. 24. Currently, their facility features three main buildings. Part of the incentive to bring the campus to Wylie included a donation of 44 acres by the city.
Located on Country Club Road across from Wylie City Hall, the tree-lined campus boasts a student center with attached conference center, the campus commons and the library.
The three-story student center is home to a striking social staircase, Mama Lucido’s café, a Starbucks bar, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, art studios, music practice rooms with Steinway products and a game room fitted with retro-era games like Pac-Man®.
The campus commons, also three stories, offers a welcome center, career center, state-of-the-art science labs, the CougarFit fitness center, a veterans resource center and a one-stop center for enrollment, admissions, advising and financial aid assistance.
The two-story library includes a glass rotunda and is the highlight of the campus. It houses the American National Bank of Texas Honors Institute and the Anthony Peterson Center for Academic Assistance which includes a math lab, writing center and science den.
The 339, 000 sf campus will serve up to 7,500 students once it is fully utilized.
Collin College serves more than 58,000 credit and continuing education students annually. It offers more than 100 degrees and certificates. The college offers a Bachelor of Science in nursing and a Bachelor of Applied Technology in cyber security, both four-year disciplines.
Joe Reavis contributed to this story.
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By Chad Engbrock • [email protected]
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