FORT WORTH, Texas — Tarrant County College Chancellor Elva LeBlanc is one of the 400 most influential North Texans (education category) in Fort Worth Inc. selections published in the magazine’s summer 2024 issue.
“It is an honor to receive this prestigious mention along with others who are doing so much to shape Fort Worth and North Texas,” she said. “I am humbled to join such an elite group.”
Dr. LeBlanc was appointed chancellor in fall 2022. Under her leadership, TCC has elevated its academics, innovation and collaborations, and enrollment this fall, just shy of 45,000 Trailblazers, is the highest since the pandemic. The College anticipates that number increasing to 50,000 by 2025.
More than 2,300 spring candidates joined 7,500 summer and fall 2023 graduates for TCC’s 55th commencement celebration in May, validating the school’s national Top 10 ranking for the number of associate degrees awarded annually. Nearly 700 spring 2024 graduates were Early College High School students completing requirements for a TCC associate degree and earning a high school diploma simultaneously.
An initiative for students who have aged out of traditional high schools launches this fall as a complement to the Early College High School program, delivering on TCC’s resolve to make a higher education available to all ages.
When the Fort Worth Film Commission sought an educational lead to train film crews, TCC unveiled three fast-track certifications in just six months. Many of the classes are four weeks long, with certification possible in as little as three months. Together with the Film Commission and 101 Studios, TCC is opening doors for career opportunities once only imagined while supporting the region’s growing movie and TV industry.
Call it business savvy that meets educational opportunity — a combination that addresses the needs of the 1,200-plus North Texas industry and community partners that support the College.
“When we educate and train students in Tarrant County, they stay in the county, and we all thrive,” Dr. LeBlanc says.
The proof is in the numbers.
An estimated 88 percent of Trailblazers remain in Tarrant County after finishing at TCC. Another 9 percent settle outside the county but stay in Texas. All are in position to contribute, big time.
More progress: As a new National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, the College is meeting the increased demand for skilled professionals to protect the global information infrastructure.
A partnership with Siemens — a national leader in innovative technology — is creating a talent pipeline for nuclear medicine technicians. TCC’s program is one of only five in the state.
Through a bond program, the College has opened four new buildings, including key structures in the redevelopment of the Northwest and Southeast campuses. Next year state-of-the-art child care centers open at TCC Northwest and South. Tarrant County will contribute $8 million in state and local fiscal recovery funds (authorized through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021), and the College will cover the balance from its five-year capital improvement plan.
In 2025 TCC will celebrate 60 years of collegiate and community excellence. The last several years reflect record-breaking economic impact — $2 billion in added income for the county, of which $1.7 billion comes from the higher earnings of TCC graduates and the increased productivity of the businesses that employ them. That’s a fiscal punch similar to hosting the World Series 259 times.
The 400 has been a Fort Worth Inc. staple since 2019, recognizing Tarrant County residents who wield significant influence in education, arts and leisure, banking and finance, economic development, government, healthcare and life sciences, industry, nonprofits and foundations, philanthropy, professional services, real estate, religion, sports, and transportation.
Tarrant County College is one of the nation’s largest higher education institutions and boasts the second lowest tuition of Texas’ Top 10 community colleges. A comprehensive two-year college with six campuses in Tarrant County and online classes, TCC offers a range of opportunities for learners of all ages and backgrounds, including Associate of Arts and Associate of Applied Science degrees; workforce and economic development programs; technical and skilled trades programs; and customized training for area businesses and corporations.