History of DCCCD

photo of newspaper article in 1966 about DCCCD

Citizens of Dallas County have always supported DCCCD with financial as well as people support. DCCCD has become an important fixture in the community, and it is an investment that has paid off well.

Forty years ago, a visionary Board of Trustees that included such Dallas luminaries as R.L. Thornton, II, Mrs. Margaret McDermott and DCCCD’s founding chancellor, Dr. Bill J. Priest, set a daunting goal: Create the best community college district in the United States.

They, and numerous other Dallas County civic leaders who supported their efforts, were dedicated to providing citizens with access to quality education that was both convenient and affordable. Thanks to their determination and hard work, Dallas citizens created Dallas County Community College District in 1965. El Centro College, DCCCD's first, was opened in 1966.

DCCCD now has seven colleges that enroll more than 100,000 credit and noncredit students every semester, making it one of the largest higher education institutions in the state of Texas. Four decades of growth and progress are a credit to the vision of Dallas area citizens.

photo of Sen. John Tower at a dedication ceremony

Timeline of Key Events in DCCCD’s History

1965
Dallas County voters created the Dallas County Junior College District and approved a $41.5 million bond issue to finance it.

1966
El Centro College began serving students in downtown Dallas.

1970
Eastfield College in Mesquite and Mountain View College in southwest Dallas enrolled their first students.

1972
Richland College opened in north Dallas.

1977
An additional $85 million in bonds supported DCCCD’s expansion, and construction began on three more colleges. Cedar Valley College in Lancaster and North Lake College in Irving opened.

1978
Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch enrolled its first students.

1989
The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development (now the Bill J. Priest Campus of El Centro College) opened south of downtown Dallas, serving individuals and businesses of all sizes with training programs customized to meet their needs.

1991
The R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications opened. The LeCroy Center is one of the largest producers of distance education products in the nation.