Ground broken for new PJC Greenville campus

Published or Revised May 18, 2007

GREENVILLE — Paris Junior College President, Dr. Pamela Anglin and the college's Board of Regents broke ground Friday to signify a new era for PJC in Greenville. Greenville and Hunt County officials, the architects and contractors joined college officials in officially turning the first shovel of dirt to start the $13 million project for a new PJC-Greenville Center campus. The new campus will be located on land adjacent to and just west of Greenville High School and on the proposed Monte Stratton Boulevard. Paris Junior College purchased 172 acres of land in December 2005 to accommodate the new campus and future expansion. SHW Group of Dallas is the architectural firm charged with development of a campus master plan and the design of the first building to be constructed as phase 1 of the project. It will be a multipurpose facility that will serve up to 2,500 students, according to Dr. Anglin. Construction on the first phase of the campus will begin by June 1, and completion is projected for July 2008 so students can begin attending fall semester (2008) classes in the new facility. "We want to be prepared to meet the educational needs of the citizens of Greenville and Hunt County, and this new campus will help us do that," Dr. Anglin said. "It is important that this be the community's college." This is another important step in the progress of the college that began in 1994 through a partnership between Paris Junior College and the Greenville Board of Development, according to Dr. Anglin. "This campus will bring new opportunities to Greenville," said Greenville Mayor Tom Oliver. "It is an asset to our citizens." Hunt County Judge John Horn and PJC Board of Regents President Paul Gene Roden also spoke during the ceremonies Friday morning. The first campus opened in the Henson Building in 1994 with 70 students enrolled to take 14 different classes. From that meager beginning, the student population of the college has grown every year. The present campus, located at 9315 Jack Finney Blvd, has served the community and the college well, Dr. Anglin pointed out, but she said it is now overflowing and it has become necessary to teach some classes at Greenville High School. "With this fall's enrollment of over 1,200 students, we feel we must take another big step in preparing for the future of our students in Greenville and Hunt County," Dr. Anglin said. "Today, we offer over 200 different academic and technical classes at the Greenville Center." Dr. Anglin pointed out that PJC is an open-door community college offering access to higher education for many who would otherwise be left without the college experience. She added that students in Greenville could earn an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science degree, as well as certificates of completion in vocational and technical programs. "Your acceptance of PJC and its Greenville Center as a strong, viable and affordable place to begin a college education or complete a technical program is encouraging and truly makes this the community's college," she said.