09/30/2026
READ ALL ABOUT IT!!! Howard College Celebrates 80 Years of Students, Community and Opportunity
BIG SPRING — Eighty years after Howard College welcomed students into its classrooms for the first time, the college celebrated the people who built the institution while looking ahead to its next chapter.
Howard College marked its 80th anniversary Wednesday, Sept. 30, with a luncheon honoring descendants and family members of some of the college’s original trustees, followed by a First Class Day remembrance and community celebration.
Howard College President Dr. Cheryl Sparks said Sept. 30 carries special significance because on that date in 1946, the college held its first day of classes.
“For us, why this day is so important — September 30 on the 80th anniversary — it is the first class day, because after all, that’s what we’re about: our students,” Sparks said.
The story of Howard College actually began nearly a year earlier.
Howard County voters approved creation of a junior college district on Nov. 17, 1945. Sparks said 87% of voters supported the proposal at a time when the community college concept was still relatively new in Texas.
The college’s first president was not hired until March 1946, leaving only months to prepare for students. By Sept. 30, Howard College was holding classes with a faculty of just eight.
Sparks said what that first group accomplished still inspires the college eight decades later.
“We marvel at what those people were able to create,” Sparks said. “Those people were amazing, and we have to follow their legacy.”
Part of their vision was providing an opportunity that largely did not exist in West Texas at the time. World War II veterans were returning home, while other residents wanted access to higher education without leaving the region.
“There was not an opportunity,” Sparks said, noting that institutions such as Odessa College, Midland College and Western Texas College had not yet been established. “They were very forward-thinking.”
Wednesday’s private luncheon brought the college’s history full circle by welcoming representatives of families connected to Howard College’s original Board of Trustees.
Sparks described those early trustees as the “bedrock” of the college and the fieldhouse.
The celebration also gave former students, coaches and employees a chance to return to campus.
“Once a Hawk, always a Hawk, and we’re not kidding about that,” Sparks said. “Howard College has a great family network.”
While much of the week has focused on the college’s first 80 years, Sparks said Howard College is already working on what comes next.
On Monday, the college officially launched its 2026-2030 strategic plan. Sparks said the plan was developed using workforce data from Howard College’s 13-county service area to identify better what businesses and communities will need in the coming years.
“We’ve always said making dreams real, and we’re still making dreams real,” Sparks said. “But we see ourselves as a bridge for change.”
Sparks said the opportunities ahead extend beyond Howard College itself and include the future of Howard County and rural West Texas.
“Sometimes people begin to think, ‘Oh, there’s not that much opportunity in small-town Howard County or the West Texas area,’” Sparks said. “But there’s lots of opportunity.”
Eighty years after a small faculty welcomed Howard College’s first students, Sparks said another generation now has the responsibility to continue what those early community leaders started.
“They’ve passed the torch,” Sparks said, “and we must continue.” aid that relationship between Howard College and the people of Howard County continues today through its elected board.
The luncheon was part of an eight-day anniversary celebration that included alum activities, 80 Acts of Kindness, Meet the Hawks, and Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting for the new Howard College softball.
