Presidents @ COM

Dr. Fred A. Taylor was born in DeGraff, Ohio in 1927.  He graduated from Bellefontaine (Ohio) School and served for 18 months in the U. S. Navy during World War II.

He received a B. S. degree from the College of the Ozarks, Arkansas and an M. S. degree in Business from Texas A & I University.  Dr. Taylor received his Ph.D. in Junior College Administration from the University of Texas.

After teaching in Arkansas, he moved to Texas in 1954 where he taught in the West Oso and Corpus Christi Independent School Districts.  In 1959 he joined the administrative of DelMar College in Corpus Christi.

In 1967, Dr. Taylor became Dean of Instruction at College of the Mainland and in 1971 became its second president.  He retired in January 1981 and moved to Arkansas.

• College completes second phase of construction. College of the Mainland campus has seven buildings totaling 275,410 square feet of space.
• Business Division implements first career planning course for office occupation majors.
• Physical Education receives Division status-becomes Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and moves into newly completed facility.
• Division of Nursing initiates first class in January.
• Division of Business implements Real Estate Program.
• College establishes Senior Citizen Program to meet the educational, social and cultural needs of residents of 35 years of age or older.
• COM starts innovation in Automotive Technology “environmental experiences.”
• College receives grant from Governor’s Committee on Aging for development of Senior Citizen Program.
• COM receives three-year $550,000 grant by U.S. Office of Education under Advanced Institutional Development program.
• COM hires Veterans Affair Officer to advise veterans of their educational benefits and academic opportunities.
• Business Division participates in seven-college consortium to determine feasibility of cooperative education in all academic areas.
• Community Education Cooperative goes into operation, bringing together the resources of COM and the school districts of Dickinson, Hitchcock and Santa Fe.
• College is first in Texas to offer six-week pre-summer session.
• Division of Nursing receives full accreditation by the Board of Nurse Examiners in the shortest allowable time.
• College establishes annual H. K. “Griz” Eckert award for student or COM personnel best exemplifying COM’s motto, “Humanhood through business.”
• Senior Citizens program offer first semester of free courses to Galveston residents `35 years or over.
• College establishes Danforth Campus (former Danforth Elementary School, Texas City) to house extensive apprenticeship program._
• Continuing Education and Community Services achieves a new record enrollment of 25,675.
• Approximately 15,000 members of community groups use COM facilities for social, cultural, educational, and recreational meetings and activities.
• The Gulf Coast Council on Foreign Affairs is established with 100 members, bringing the campus Foreign service officers to speak on critical issues.
• Academic Programs add three engineering courses to curriculum.
• Division of Social Sciences establishes Oral History Project.
• Faculty attains level of academic preparation above that recommended by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
• Division of Business introduces new two-year program in Banking.
• Division of Industrial Education introduces 16-week acceleration program in Welding.
• Continuing Education and Community Services courses and activities draws 40,674 persons, making an impressive total of 125,095 for the decade.
• Division of Business notes an increase of 48 percent in the number of business majors (755) over the previous years (during the year, 3,019 students enrolled in 13 programs and 232 course sections)
• Division of Nursing changes its name to the Division of Health Occupations and expanded its programs to include seven associated health occupations programs, offered in cooperation with Galveston Junior College and the School of Allied Health Science of UTMB.
• Center for Career Decisions begins operations to help students make sound career choices.
• College establishes Educational Development Center to help facility pursue innovated approaches to teaching & staff members and faculty to develop professionally.
• Community Education Cooperative establishes the Learning Exchange to bring people together who can learn from each other.
• Division of Natural Sciences plans new fall program in Agricultural Sciences.
• Division of Social Sciences develops new honors program in History and Political Science.
• Division of Social Sciences launches an honor program in American History.
• Division of Arts and Humanities sponsors a Summer Writers’ Festival featuring Shelby Heron, a nationally known writer.
• Division of Business develops a degree program in Credit Union Administration.
• A highly successful conference, “The Future of Work,” is co-sponsored with the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges.
• Participants in Senior Adults program contribute more than 2,400 hours of volunteer service to the College of the Mainland Community Theatre, the Art Gallery and other College departments.
• A Women’s Center is open to offer women students counseling and informational services.
• A Total Learning Center is established to help students strengthen basic skills needed to achieve academic, career and personal goals.
• Dr. Fred. A. Taylor retires after ten years as President of College of the Mainland and four years as Dean of Instruction.

Go to the President Taylor photo album.