[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 86 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





        RECOGNIZING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAN JACINTO COLLEGE

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2022

  Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 60th 
anniversary of San Jacinto College, located in Harris County, Texas. 
For more than six decades, San Jacinto College has established itself 
as an educational trailblazer in the greater Houston area. The college 
has an outstanding reputation for providing affordable, high-quality 
instruction and training in more than 200 degrees and certificate 
programs.
  On September 18, 1961, San Jacinto College first opened its doors to 
the citizens and communities of East Harris County in a rented 
storefront in downtown Pasadena, Texas. The newly-formed institution 
was named the East Harris County Union Junior College. Their initial 
enrollment of 876 students was, at the time, the largest for any junior 
college in Texas. In its second year of operation, the college was 
awarded full accreditation by the Texas Association of Colleges and 
Universities. A few decades later, in December of 1995, the college 
adopted its current name, the San Jacinto Community College District.
  Over the past 60 years, San Jacinto College has opened additional 
campuses and centers, including San Jacinto College North in 1975, San 
Jacinto College South in 1979, a Martine Technology and Training Center 
in 2016, and a Generation Park Campus in 2020. The college also 
oversees the LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and 
Technology in Pasadena and the EDGE Center at the Houston Spaceport in 
Houston.
  To date, San Jacinto College has awarded certificates and associate 
degrees to more than 93,000 graduates. Additionally, since 1980, 
175,000 continuing enrollments have helped create a skilled workforce 
across the greater Houston region. For their outstanding efforts in 
2017 and 2021, the Aspen Institute recognized San Jacinto College as 
one of the top five community colleges in the nation.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud to represent several of San Jacinto 
College's campuses and centers and congratulate them for more than half 
a century of excellence in education. I have no doubt that they will 
continue to enrich the workforce and surrounding communities for 
decades to come.

                          ____________________