[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 22, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E72]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAMAR STATE COLLEGE ORANGE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 22, 2019

  Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lamar State 
College Orange on the occasion of their 50th anniversary.
  Lamar State College Orange is a unique campus on the Sabine River in 
Orange, Texas, composed of re-purposed buildings that revitalized the 
downtown area creating a beautiful campus. LSCO opened in the fall of 
1969 as an extension center of Lamar University and first held classes 
for 362 students in the vacant Tilley Elementary School located on the 
site of the former naval base in Orange. That structure burned in 1971, 
prompting community leaders to raise funds for the purchase of a new 
facility. The fund raising campaign produced $250,000 that allowed for 
the purchase of a building located on Front Street in downtown Orange. 
That same year the Texas legislature approved the operation of a two-
year educational center in Orange and appropriated $125,000 to support 
the operation of the center then known as Lamar University at Orange.
  Dr. Joe Ben Welch played a key role in the early growth and 
development of the college. He served as director, dean, provost and 
president during his nineteen-year tenure at the institution. The 
initial class offerings focused on academic courses that would transfer 
and count toward a baccalaureate degree. Welch, however, saw the need 
to offer career-oriented programs that would prepare students for 
immediate entry into the workforce, and he began to add programs such 
as vocational nursing and welding. This mix of academic and career-
oriented programs defines the campus mission to this day. Dr. Welch 
retired in 1989 after nineteen years of service to Lamar.
  In 1994, the Board selected Dr. J. Michael Shahan as President of 
LSCO. Under Shahan's leadership, the campus has grown to over 2,000 
students and made significant improvements to the campus 
infrastructure. The Ron E. Lewis Library was completed in 2001, the 
first new construction in the college's history. A new nursing school 
and classroom building was added in 2013. Dr. Shahan saw Lamar through 
hurricanes and floods and still managed to continue the growth that led 
to an enrollment of more than 2,600 students today. After twenty-four 
years, Dr. Shahan retired in 2018 with the honor of having the new 
Cypress Event Center being renamed the J. Michael and Bridget Shahan 
Event Center.
  In 2018, Dr. Thomas Johnson was selected as President, and under his 
leadership Lamar State College Orange will no doubt continue its legacy 
of two-year academic programs, numerous technical programs and 
customized training programs to meet the needs of local business and 
industry playing a key role in southeast Texas' growth and development.
  Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to recognize Lamar State 
College Orange on this important anniversary. May God continue to bless 
and grow LSCO and the community and students it serves.

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