$1 million gift to fund schooling at Alamo Colleges

Started in 2008, the center offers associate's degrees for adults and dual credit courses for high school students in Kerr County, which falls within the Alamo Colleges' eight-county service area.

Donated by retired banker F. O'Neil Griffin, the $1 million will pay tuition and fees for up to two years for students who begin at the Kerrville Center.

From there, students can transfer to any of the five Alamo Colleges: St. Philip's, Palo Alto, Northwest Vista, Northeast Lakeview and San Antonio College.

The Alamo Colleges ventured into Kerrville at the request of education and community leaders seeking a low-cost option for students to pursue a college degree.

Schreiner University, a small, private university with an annual tuition of $18,000, is the city's only other option.

At first, community leaders were eyeing Austin Community College because they didn't feel the Alamo Colleges was giving them what they needed, said Bruce Leslie, chancellor of the Alamo Colleges.

“We have turned that relationship around in the last three years,” Leslie said.

Originally housed at Hal Peterson Middle School in the Kerrville Independent School District, the center grew to 725 students last year. Local leaders raised $2.2 million in private funds to renovate the Tivy Education Center, and Griffin contributed the first $250,000.

The finished product, unveiled Tuesday, is a 19,000-square-foot facility with 11 multimedia classrooms and two wet labs for science classes.