A&M-Commerce Celebrates 25-Year Anniversary of Navarro College Partnership

The Navarro Partnership offers local students access to four-year degrees and has produced more than 3,000 graduates since 1999.

Texas A&M University-Commerce and Navarro College marked their 25-year partnership at an October 24 celebration at Navarro's campus in Corsicana, Texas.

A commemorative logo marking the Navarro Partnership's 25-year anniversary on a dark blue gradient background.

Attendees gathered to hear from guest speakers, including Dr. Tammi Vacha-Haase, A&M-Commerce provost and vice president for Academic Affairs; Dr. Jeanetta Johnson, vice president of Academic Affairs at Navarro College; and Dr. Ray Green, dean of the College of Education and Human Services at A&M-Commerce.

Serving a need

Vacha-Haase spoke of the forward-thinking vision established 25 years ago by Dr. Richard Sanchez, former president of Navarro College, and Dr. Keith McFarland, former president of A&M-Commerce. At the time, Corsicana—located more than 50 miles south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex—lacked an option for local students to earn a four-year degree.

Regarding how the program began, Sanchez shared: “This program continues to be very, very important to me because I see every day how it changes lives. When the trustees appointed me as president of Navarro College in 1998, they said that one of the things that they wanted was a four-year program here at Navarro.”

The partnership with A&M-Commerce took shape when Sanchez passed a business card to McFarland, whom he did not know, at a meeting in Austin.

“I wrote him on the back of my business card, ‘May I see you after this meeting.' And, I had folks pass it down to him,” Sanchez recalled.

The two met after the meeting and began discussions leading to McFarland visiting the Navarro College campus.

“He liked the setting of the college and immediately said that, yes, he did want a partnership program,” Sanchez said.

The Navarro Partnership launched the following year.

A legacy of local transformation

More than 3,000 A&M-Commerce students have graduated from the Corsicana site since the Navarro Partnership launched in 1999.

Two graduates walking on the Navarro College campus, smiling after graduation.
Photo by the Texas A&M University-Commerce Office of Marketing and Communications.

Johnson is one of those students. She credits the Navarro Partnership for transforming her life. Her journey began as a single mother of three living in low-income housing across from the Navarro College campus.

Now a three-time A&M-Commerce alum, Johnson (‘06, '09, '15) earned her bachelor's in interdisciplinary studies through A&M-Commerce at Navarro. She then completed a master's in elementary education and a doctorate in higher education. She leveraged her education to become a vice president at Navarro College.

Four-year degrees close to home

A&M-Commerce at Navarro College provides affordable and accessible higher education for students throughout Navarro County and surrounding areas. Students transfer from Navarro and other institutions to complete four-year degrees through A&M-Commerce at Navarro.

The site offers eight academic degree programs, including:

Additionally, eligible students enrolled at the Corsicana site may transfer their credit hours to the A&M-Commerce main campus toward completing a bachelor's degree in psychology.

A bright future ahead

Looking forward, Vacha-Haase addressed the faculty and staff who have worked diligently to make the partnership successful.

“Thank you for starting this. Thank you all for continuing to grow it,” she said. “As we look toward the future, let us always remember our past and how we can keep building on that because I think we've just begun.”

Learn more about the Navarro College Partnership.