Odessa College
Encyclopedia
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
based in Odessa, Texas
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serving the people of Ector County and the Permian Basin. It opened in 1952 and currently enrolls about 5,000 annually in its university-parallel and occupational/technical courses, and 11,000 students annually in its Basic Education, Continuing Education, and Community Recreation courses.
Odessa College is home to KOCV-FM, a National Public Radio member station.
As defined by the Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
, the official service area of Odessa College is the following:
- all of Andrews, BrewsterBrewster County, TexasBrewster County is a county located in western part of the US state of Texas, along the border with Mexico. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. As of the 2000 census, the population is 8,866. In 2009, the population was estimated to be 9,481. Its...
, Crane, CulbersonCulberson County, TexasCulberson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. In 2000, its population was 2,975. Culberson was founded in 1911. It is named for David B. Culberson, a lawyer and Confederate soldier in the American...
, Jeff DavisJeff Davis County, TexasJeff Davis County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is named for Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. In 2000, its population was 2,207, and 2,258 by 2009...
, LovingLoving County, TexasUS Census 2000Of the 67 residents, 60 were White, 6 of "some other race", and 1 person of two or more races. There were 7 residents who were Hispanic or Latino of any race...
, PresidioPresidio County, TexasPresidio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 7,304. Its county seat is Marfa. Presidio County is in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas and is named for the ancient border settlement of Presidio del Norte.-Geography:Presidio County is triangular in...
, ReevesReeves County, TexasReeves County is a county located in the US state of Texas. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. In 2000, its population was 13,137. Its seat is Pecos. Reeves County is named for George R. Reeves, a Texas state legislator and colonel in the...
, UptonUpton County, TexasUpton County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 3,404. Its county seat is Rankin. The county is named for two brothers: John C. and William F. Upton, both Colonels in the Confederate army....
, Ward, and WinklerWinkler County, TexasWinkler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 7,173. Its county seat is Kermit. The county is named for Clinton M. Winkler, a Colonel in the Confederate Army....
counties, and - the Seminole Independent School DistrictSeminole Independent School DistrictSeminole Independent School District is a public school district based in Seminole, Texas .In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.-Schools:*Seminole High School...
, located in Gaines County. - The Pecos Technical Training Center is an extension of Odessa College, located at 1000 S. Eddy St, Pecos, Texas. It first opened its doors in the summer of 1999.
In 1999, an Odessa doctor and his wife donated a 27000 square feet (2,508.4 m²) building in Pecos to house the new Pecos Technical Training Center of Odessa College. After renovations to the building made possible by an $860,000 Economic Development Administration grant, the center now houses administrative and faculty offices, technical and vocational learning labs and a student lounge. The new center enables OC to improve and expand its long-established extension education program in Pecos.
Athletics
Odessa College participates in the WJCAC Conference of the NJCAA in multiple sports. To date, the OC sports programs have won 46 national NJCAA titles, making them the most winning program in the NJCAA. 11 sports are currently active: Men's and Women's Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Golf, Rodeo, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Dance, Cheerleaders, and Trainers. In 1970 the women's tennis team won the third national collegiate championship of the United States Lawn Tennis Association. During the basketball season, OC broadcasts the men's and women's WJCAC road games and the home games with Midland CollegeMidland College
Midland College was established as an independent junior college in 1972 and held its first classes on campus in 1975. Since that time, the campus has expanded to a main campus on in Midland, Texas, United States - a county seat of over 100,000 people in the Permian Basin region of west Texas...
on the radio. The 2008-09 season can be found on KFZX
KFZX
KFZX is a radio station located in the Midland/Odessa, Texas market which plays a classic rock music format.-History:102.1 went on air in 1983 as "K-WES the HOT 102 FM". City of license was Monahans, Texas. The station went on air from a thousand foot tower near Notrees, Texas.The CP was obtained...
.
Notable alumni
- Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, musician - Tryon D. LewisTryon D. LewisTryon D. Lewis is an attorney in Odessa, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 81 . He is also a former state court judge....
, state representative from Odessa since 2009, former 161st state judicial district judge - Joe MelsonJoe MelsonJoe Melson , is an American singer and a BMI Award–winning songwriter.Melson was born in Bonham, the seat of Fannin County in northeast Texas. He was reared on a farm until he was sixteen. He attended high school in Gore, Oklahoma, and in Chicago before he returned to Texas to study at the two-year...
, American singer and songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer... - Danny MasonDanny MasonDanny Raymond Mason was a golf coach and physical education professor who was affiliated with Texas Tech University in Lubbock for more than three decades....
, former golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
coach at Texas Tech UniversityTexas Tech UniversityTexas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
in LubbockLubbock, TexasLubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
, attended 1957-1959 - Ty MurrayTy MurrayTy Monroe Murray is a nine-time World Champion rodeo cowboy and co-founder and board adviser of the Professional Bull Riders.-Early life:...
, Prorodeo 7 time All Around World Champion, 2 time Bull riding Champ - George E. "Buddy" WestBuddy WestGeorge E. "Buddy" West was a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Odessa, who was known for his staunch support of his hometown University of Texas of the Permian Basin...
, state representative from Odessa, 1993-2008 - Larry Johnson, former NBA basketball player with the Charlotte Hornets
- Stephnie WeirStephnie WeirStephnie Carmel Weir is an American actress and comedian, best known for her membership in the recurring cast on MADtv.-Early life:...
, actress, comedienne and cast member of MadTVMADtvMADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first... - Kathy WhitworthKathy WhitworthKathy Whitworth is an American professional golfer. Throughout her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else has won on either the LPGA Tour or the PGA Tour. In 1981 she became the first woman to reach career earnings of $1 million on the LPGA Tour...
, LPGALPGAThe LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
Hall of Famer - Moochie NorrisMoochie NorrisMartyn "Moochie" Norris is an American former professional basketball player.Norris, a journeyman, played collegiately at Odessa College , at Auburn University and at the University of West Florida . He was drafted with 33rd overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft by Milwaukee Bucks...
, former NBA player, most famously for the Houston RocketsHouston RocketsThe Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being... - Jim "Razor" SharpJim "Razor" SharpJim Sharp is a retired professional bull rider native to West Texas. In 1988, the Texan became the first bull rider in the PRCA’s National Finals Rodeo history to ride each of his 10 bulls during the champion-crowning event. The record-breaking performance earned Sharp his first of two PRCA World...
, Two Time PRCA World Champion Bullrider