Collin College to name Farmersville Campus hall for founding trustee Bob Collins

Collin College will name a building at its Farmersville Campus for Bob Collins, one of the college's original trustees and a former Plano City Council member, at a public ceremony next week.

The ceremony to name Dr. J. Robert Collins Hall runs from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the campus, 501 S. Collin Parkway in Farmersville, the Farmersville Times reported. The public is invited, and organizers have asked those planning to attend to RSVP to the college.

Four decades on the board

Collins retired this year after 41 years as a trustee, the college announced in May. He held the Place 8 seat, served as board chair and led the board's Organization, Education, and Policy Committee, according to the college, which described him as among the longest-tenured trustees in Texas community college history.

He closed out his tenure at the May graduation ceremony, where he congratulated his grandson on stage.

"We always believed Collin County deserved a college that could grow with the community and provide opportunities for generations of students," Collins said in the college's May announcement.

District President Neil Matkin said at the time that Collins' "influence can be seen in every campus, every partnership, and in the lives of hundreds of thousands of students."

From high school classrooms to 10 locations

The college began in 1985 with courses held in local high schools. It now has 10 campuses and centers in seven cities as well as its online iCollin campus, and serves about 60,000 students a year, according to the college.

Before his work in higher education, Collins worked for over three decades at a defense electronics company, rising to vice president, and later spent nearly 20 years in teaching and administration at what is now East Texas A&M University. In addition to his council service, he was Plano's mayor pro tem, the college said. He lives in Farmersville.

State Reps. Jeff Leach, Candy Noble and Keresa Richardson presented a joint state resolution honoring him at a May 26 reception, and U.S. Rep. Keith Self's office issued a congressional proclamation, the college said.

Sources

farmersvilletimes.com

collin.edu