Bossier Parish Community College
Encyclopedia
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
established in 1967 by the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, initially as a pilot program to test the feasibility of commuter two-year colleges. The institution hence opened as the "thirteenth" and "fourteenth" grades of Airline High School in Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
.
Classes began with 101 students and five full-time faculty, including Edwin T. "Eddy" Shell
Eddy Shell
Edwin Taylor "Eddy" Shell was a prominent educator and politician in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana. In 1967, he was among the original five full-time faculty members to launch Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City. The institution was then known as Airline Junior College....
, who taught speech
Speech
Speech is the human faculty of speaking.It may also refer to:* Public speaking, the process of speaking to a group of people* Manner of articulation, how the body parts involved in making speech are manipulated...
for more than forty years at BPCC until his death of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 2008. In 1991, Shell was elected to the Bossier Parish Police Jury, the parish governing board, a position which he also retained until his death.
The name "Bossier Parish Community College" was not established until 1973, and academic offerings were expanded in day and evening divisions. Efforts were also made to reach military personnel at Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing , the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force...
.
In 1977, the Community Education Division began offering non-academic courses. The Northwest Louisiana Police Training Academy (renamed in 1984 as the Criminal Justice Institute) was created to serve ten northwest Louisiana parishes. In 1978, the Respiratory Therapy Technology program was born. From 1979-1984, BPCC was authorized to grant associate degrees in Occupational Studies. Two-year degrees were hence established in criminal justice, business administration, and office administration. In 1984, an associate degree in data processing
Data processing
Computer data processing is any process that a computer program does to enter data and summarise, analyse or otherwise convert data into usable information. The process may be automated and run on a computer. It involves recording, analysing, sorting, summarising, calculating, disseminating and...
was approved.
The first commencement
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
ceremony was held in 1980, when eight students received degrees. In 1983, BPCC received accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
.In 1995, Bossier Parish Community College entered into articulation agreements with Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
at Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
, Grambling State University
Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...
in Grambling
Grambling, Louisiana
Grambling is a city in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,693 at the 2000 census. The city is home to Grambling State University and is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, Southern Arkansas University
Southern Arkansas University
Southern Arkansas University is a public four-year institution located in Magnolia, the seat of Columbia County in Arkansas, United States, not far from the Louisiana state line.-Location:Southern Arkansas University is located in Magnolia, which, as of the census...
in Magnolia
Magnolia, Arkansas
Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States, that was founded in 1853. At the time of its incorporation in 1858, the city had a population of about 1,950. The city grew slowly as an agricultural and regional cotton market until the discovery of oil just east of the city in March,...
, Kilgore Junior College in Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk Counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the home of Kilgore College, and was also the childhood home of famous classical pianist Van Cliburn...
, and Louisiana State University at Shreveport to assist students in transferring credit hours to four-year institutions.
In 1996, BPPC added new associate degree programs to the curriculum in Physical Therapist Assistant, Emergency Medical Technician (Paramedic
Paramedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as...
), and Computer Drafting and Design. On July 1, 1997, BPCC became a member of the University of Louisiana System
University of Louisiana System
The University of Louisiana System is one of four public university systems in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its headquarters are in the Claiborne Building in Baton Rouge.-History and diversification:...
. In May 1999, new programs were added: Associate degrees in Industrial Technology and Theatre; academic certificates in Computer Aided Drafting, Pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
Technician, and Telecommunications.
On July 1, 1999, BPCC became a member of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. In 2000, the Board of Regents approved the consolidation of associate degrees in Law Enforcement Technology and Corrections Science into a single Associate of Science in Criminal Justice. The regents also approved the conversion of the Culinary Arts non-credit program to an academic certificate program.
In 2001, BPCC joined with Delgado Community College
Delgado Community College
Delgado Community College ' is a Louisiana public community college with campuses throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area, the East and West Banks of New Orleans, the East Bank of Jefferson Parish and on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Covington and Slidell in St. Tammany Parish...
in New Orleans to implement a collaborative Pharmacy Technician program through the use of interactive video. The innovative program was inspired by new certification requirements instituted by the state in 1997. BPCC and DCC both determined that the certification requirements established a need for such a program in higher education.
In 2004, BPCC moved to a new $55 million complex on U.S. Highway 80. An associate degree in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
was added. The new campus held its grand opening on February 1, 2005. A Health and Physical Education Complex and Performing Arts Theatre officially opened.
Jim Henderson, a Shreveport native, became chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of BPCC, effective July 1, 2009. He succeeded Tom Carleton, who served fourteen years in the position and forty-two years in the field of professional education.
Robert E. "Bob" Barton
Robert E. "Bob" Barton
Robert Earl "Bob" Barton is the first Republican to have served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from Bossier Parish. A former newspaper owner from Bossier City, Barton held the District 8 seat from 1996-2000. The position opened when the 16-year incumbent, Robert Roy Adley, ran for...
, formerly the assistant to Chancellor Carleton, represented part of Bossier Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from 1996-2000. Barton's legislative opponent, Bob G. Burford (1942-2009), was also affiliated with BPCC, having served as an academic chairperson. Burford was also a former member of the Bossier Parish Police Jury.
In June 2010, BPCC ranked in the nation’s Top 20 for community and technical colleges in graduates. "We just created an occupational therapy assistant program that is one of a kind in this area. Our nursing program is extremely innovative. . . . " said Jim Henderson, the BPCC chancellor.
Henderson added that BPCC is also equipped to help fight cyber-terrorism
Cyber-terrorism
Cyberterrorism is the use of Internet based attacks in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, large-scale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the Internet, by the means of tools such as computer viruses....
: "We are on the cutting edge right here in Bossier City. We have created programs to provide technicians to protect this nation."