2016 was a special year for Temple College as it marked the 90th anniversary of its founding. Here are some of the top stories from the year.

1.Temple College celebrates its 90th year

Temple College celebrated the 90th anniversary of its founding on Sept. 22, 1926. A number of special events were held throughout the year, including a community celebration on Nov. 29.

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2. New Student Success Center opens

The new Student Success Center opened in October, providing additional space for the Writing Center, Testing Center and Math Tutorial Lab, as well as all the programs that fall under Adult Education and Literacy.

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3. Temple College selected to participate in new student success initiative

In July, Temple College was one of 12 community colleges in Texas selected to participate in a new student success initiative called the Texas Pathways Project. The goal of the project is to get students in and out of college as soon as possible with as little debt as possible. Representatives from Temple College attended the inaugural Texas Pathways Institute in November.

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4. Temple College, TAMU-CT partner to offer 4-year music degree in Temple

In May, Temple College and Texas A&M University-Central Texas signed an agreement to offer two new bachelor’s degree programs in Temple. One is a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (Music Concentration which includes teacher certification) and the other is a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies (Music Concentration) that does not include teacher certification. Six students enrolled in the new programs in fall 2016.

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5. Texas Bioscience Institute celebrates its 10th anniversary, welcomes largest class

The Texas Bioscience Institute, which is run by Temple College, celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016. The institute offers a Middle College program, which enables high school students to earn a STEM-focused associate degree while they are still in high school. The Middle College program welcomed its largest class ever in fall 2016.

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6. Chorale members perform at Carnegie Hall

Members of the Temple College Chorale travelled to New York City in April to perform in a concert at Carnegie Hall. The concert featured three sacred works by Franz Schubert as well as John Rutter’s “Magnificat.”

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7. Temple College partners with TWU to offer dual enrollment program for dental hygiene students

In May, Temple College partnered with Texas Woman’s University to offer a dual enrollment program for dental hygiene students. The program gives interested students the opportunity to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene from TWU while simultaneously completing their Associate of Science degree at Temple College.

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8. LULAC group receives national recognition

In July, the Temple College Young Adult LULAC Council No. 22305 received the National LULAC Young Adult Council of the Year Award and advisor Eva Garcia received the Young Adult Advisor of the Year Award.

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9. Softball player named All-American, signs with Texas A&M

Softball player Lexi Smith was named an NJCAA Division 1 First Team All-American for the second year in a row in 2016. Smith led the NJCAA in strikeouts, strikeouts per game and shutouts during the 2016 season and signed to play softball with Texas A&M University in 2016-17.

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10. Other students earn recognition

Other Temple College students earned a variety of recognition in 2016. In January, Benito Costilla was one of 14 students nationwide selected to receive a scholarship to attend the 2016 Emerge Latino Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. In March, Devin Garcia received a $1,000 student research grant from the Texas Academy of Science (TAS) and Annie Maylone was named to the 2016 All-Texas Academic Team. Demetre’ Goodmen was selected to participate in a summer research program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. In November, four students from Temple College received awards in the 37th annual Central Texas Art Competition, which was hosted by the college. And in December, 11 students were selected to perform in Texas community college All-State music ensembles in 2017.