A Kerrville man has donated $1 million to the Alamo Colleges to fund scholarships for students who begin college at the newly renovated Alamo College Greater Kerrville Center, which celebrated its grand opening Tuesday.

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.

“We are able to provide a direct, affordable college education to students who are too far away to easily commute to one of our campuses,” Leslie said. “We have adults enrolled who never would have gone on to a college education.”

Though Kerr County residents don't pay property taxes into the college district, Bexar County taxpayers don't subsidize the center, Leslie said.

In fact, the center generates some revenue for the district because Kerrville students pay out-of-district tuition, nearly twice the amount Bexar County students pay.

The Alamo Colleges has similar outposts in New Braunfels and Floresville.