The Perils of Success, Re-Visited 2021
J. Robert Collins
In 2002, I wrote an Op-Ed for the Dallas Morning News entitled “The Perils of Success”. The points made almost two decades ago have proven correct then and are even more so now. Following are some of those comments revisited and updated.
From its start in 1985 to today, Collin College has received many accolades. From careful financial management paying off with needed expansion during lean economic times to the national awards of our students and faculty, Collin’s strength as an educational leader is well substantiated. Have we made a positive impact in our county since our inception? Yes, the college has made a major positive impact! The economic impact to the region in 2017-18 was measured by EMSI at over $720 million per year in added income to Collin County!
In the early 1980s, the Collin County Community College District (CCCCD) was just a passing dream of a few Collin County leaders. Through the hard work and vision of the initial Committee of 100 – made up of a cross-section of residents and led by David McCall, III, of Plano and Carey Cox of McKinney – we gained support throughout the county and in Austin. On April 6,1985, voters approved the establishment of CCCCD and elected our first Board of Trustees.
At the time, my family and I were residents of Plano, where I had completed terms on the Planning and Zoning Commission, the City Council, and the Central Appraisal District Board. I was fortunate to be among those chosen by the county’s voters to serve on that initial CCCCD board.
During this time of growth and expansion, the college brand evolved and we are known by virtually everyone today as “Collin College” or just “Collin”.
In mid-year 1985, we had no students, no faculty, no administrators, and no facilities. 36 years later, we have five major campus complexes, three specialty facilities (Courtyard Center in Plano, Collin Higher Education Center (CHEC) in McKinney, and the Public Safety Training Center in McKinney) as well as a shared location in Rockwall where we partner with Texas Tech and Rockwall ISD. Our dual credit offerings – college courses for high school students – occur on all of our campuses as well as over 50 high school campuses throughout our service area.
We are a major employer with more than 2,500 faculty and staff. We will serve about 58,000 students this year – one of the largest college enrollments in North Texas. In March we will open the Farmersville Campus with the intent of serving the most rural northeast corner of the county. In August, we will open the Celina Campus which will serve the fast-growing northwest corner of the county. At that time, we will operate 7 full service campuses to meet the needs of ALL of the students regardless of location within our region.
When a friend – a mother of four grown children – told me with tears in her eyes that Collin is the greatest thing to ever happen in Collin County because she was able with some hard work to achieve her childhood dream of becoming a nurse, I realized at least part of the impact we have had.
The economic growth in Collin County has allowed us to achieve this with no significant increase in our tax rate. It was a little over $0.09 (9 cents) per $100 evaluation then, and it is a little over $0.08 (8 cents) now. The vision from the early 1980s has been realized. Or, has it?
Shortly after we began, the board created a master plan for the district. Our vision was to create a college that would reach all students in the county and make it possible for every person who desired to receive a college education to do so. We also believed that the community college was uniquely enabled to support economic development and the business environment, and we set forth to realize that parallel objective.
I should also add that from the beginning we have desired to provide an excellent education to our students and to be the best in the nation. To date, we have enjoyed many accolades and acknowledgments highlighting our longer-term successes.
Our initial master plan called for campuses on roughly 15-mile centers in Plano, McKinney and near Preston Road and Highway 121. The board decided to locate our first campus in the geographic center of the county and the county seat. McKinney became home to our first campus – what is now the McKinney Campus – to project our vision of serving the entire county. The McKinney Campus became home to our first baccalaureate degree – a bachelor of science in nursing, in January 2020. Shortly thereafter, we began moving on developing the Plano Campus, which is now our largest campus boasting major fine art and athletic programs as well as student housing.
In 1989, we began selection of the third campus. After much deliberation and debate, the board chose a location just a little north of the Preston Road and State 121 intersection in Frisco. At the time, the area was almost completely rural with little to support a campus, but we believed that eventually growth would come, and we maintained our determination to be seen as a countywide community college. Today, we have the rapidly expanding Frisco Campus which is soon to open a new 90,000 square foot information technology center in support of our baccalaureate degree program in cybersecurity.
In late 2002 and early 2003, the board completed our second master plan. In it, we restated the vision of serving the educational needs of the entire county. We projected that Collin should establish future campuses in the southeastern, northeastern, and northwestern areas of the county. These were all future growth areas. It was also about this time that we formally established our Core Values which we strive to keep front and center in all of our activities.
We have kept our eyes on the initial vision and completed our earlier master plans. We are currently completing the 2015 master plan which called for establishing new campuses in the eastern, southeastern and northwestern regions of Collin County and making major upgrades to our original campuses. We also defined and planned a first of its kind Technical Campus to address the rapidly growing need for graduates trained in the technical skills that support the workforce needs of the county. The Technical Campus is located at the geographical junction of the four largest school districts in the county. The campus has been developed in close coordination with area high schools to maximize the potential for students to complete licensures and industry certifications during their high school years.
In support of the master plan, the citizens of Collin County approved a $600 million bond issue in 2016 which allowed us to move forward. Today, we have opened a 340,000 square foot new campus in Wylie, opened a new 340,000 square foot Technical Campus in Allen, and are completing new campuses in Farmersville and Celina, as mentioned earlier.
Our success has been profound. It is a good feeling for a local editor to pat us on the back for being good managers, to see one of our students win a national award against blue-ribbon four-year institutions, to see one of our faculty recognized as the best in their field, or to attend a lecture by a Nobel Prize winner during an Honors Institute program.
In the midst of enjoying some great successes, our vision is always foremost in my mind. We have and will continue delivering a brighter future to our students and our communities. We must address the educational needs of every area of the county. We must certainly focus on serving the areas experiencing booming growth right now but, not to the exclusion of looking to the future. We must plan effectively and continue promoting the entrepreneurial spirit staying ahead of the growth curve. We will continue to take some well-considered risks, venture into new areas, and never forget the passion that got us this far – excellent education and accessibility for all residents of Collin County and surrounding regions.
Oddly enough, I believe the greatest peril of successful organizations is success. Without careful and thoughtful effort, success can cause us to lose our sense of urgency and become comfortable with the status quo. We guard against this for Collin and fuel the sense of urgency we feel in all of our endeavors to serve our students.
Future campuses will not be 100-acre sites like our first three. Future campuses will be smaller facilities using advanced technology to enhance the educational processes and reducing the facilities required just a few years ago. Whatever the prototypical future campuses are, whatever the new programs may be, the Board of Trustees and college administration will ensure that they will address our future needs.