Collin County Community College District

Cary A. Israel Health Sciences Center at the McKinney Campus The McKinney Campus (also known as Central Park Campus) opened in 1985. [ 5 ] The campus features include a multistory parking garage, library, classrooms, offices, and a student development center. The campus library totals 73,500 square feet (6,830 m 2 ) . In January 2016, Collin College added a 125,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Health Sciences Center named after former Collin College district president Cary A. Israel. [ 6 ] Plano Campus The Plano Campus (also known as Spring Creek Campus) opened in fall of 1988. [ 7 ] By number of students, this campus is the largest and hosts the college district's fine arts and athletics [ 8 ] programs. The campus features a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m 2 ) art gallery, [ 9 ] [ 10 ] theatre center, [ 11 ] gymnasium (Cougar Hall), and tennis facilities. In January 2013, the college opened an 88,000-square-foot library building with majestic architecture inspired by Thomas Jefferson's design for the University of Virginia. [ 7 ] The Frisco Campus (also known as Preston Ridge Campus) opened in July 1995. In 2014, thanks to a $2 million gift for scholarships by Roger and Jody Lawler of Frisco, [ 12 ] the campus renamed their 70,000-square-foot (6,500 m 2 ) building from "D Building" to "Lawler Hall" in honor of the donation. Collin College's business and high-tech programs are centered at Frisco Campus. The culinary arts program [ 13 ] moved there in 2009. The district administration is located in the Collin Higher Education Center (CHEC) in McKinney . The CHEC hosts – among other things – a number of bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs from five North Texas universities: Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Woman's University, the University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Tech University, and the University of North Texas. Offerings vary per university. The center is located at the intersection of the Central Expressway ( U.S. Route 75 ) and Texas State Highway 121 .

[ 14 ] The Public Safety Training Center (PSTC) in McKinney provides reality-based training for law enforcement and firefighter cadets and active first responders. Training elements include law enforcement and firefighter training areas with simulated retail spaces, office buildings, and living areas for reality-based scenario training, three firearms ranges, specialized gas-fired burn structures, a confined-space rescue simulator, and other training obstacles. The facility, which was built in partnership with the cities of McKinney and Allen, opened in September 2018. [ 15 ] The Technical Campus, located in Allen, opened in the fall of 2020. [ 16 ] The Wylie Campus also opened in the fall of 2020. [ 17 ] Designed to support 7,500 students at capacity, the campus's opening allowed for the expansion of the college's veterinary medicine program. The campus was built in cooperation with the city of Wylie, which donated about 44 acres across the street from the city's municipal complex toward the project. Farmersville Campus opened in March 2021. The first building, a roughly 52,000-square-foot facility, is designed to accommodate 1,250 learners. [ 18 ] Celina Campus opened in the fall of 2021. The first phase of the campus is 96,000 square feet and support up to 2,500 students. [ 19 ] The following is a list of the college district's current and planned campuses. Courtyard Center campus Celina Campus [ 20 ] [ 21 ] Collin College Technical Campus (Allen) [ 22 ] Collin Higher Education Center (McKinney) [ 23 ] Courtyard Center (Plano) [ 24 ] Farmersville Campus [ 25 ] Frisco Campus (Preston Ridge Campus) [ 26 ] McKinney Campus (Central Park Campus) [ 27 ] Public Safety Training Center (McKinney) [ 28 ] Plano Campus (Spring Creek Campus) [ 29 ] Wylie Campus [ 20 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] 2017 bond program and current master plan The residents of Collin County approved a $600 million bond proposition in May 2017 to fund the college district's master plan.

Master plan projects funded by the bond included the Technical Campus, the Wylie Campus, the Public Safety Training Center in McKinney, and safety upgrades to existing campuses. Outstanding projects funded by the bond include planned campuses in Celina and Farmersville, an information technology building at the Frisco Campus, welcome centers at the college's existing campuses, and other upgrades to improve student experiences throughout the district. [ 32 ]

The effects of this pandemic have been blown utterly out of proportion across our nation and reported with unfortunate sensationalism and few facts regardless of which news outlet one tunes into. It has become political in a pivotal election year and frankly, it has made our jobs all the more difficult. — Neil Matkin, President of Collin College [ 33 ] Collin College has been repeatedly criticized for its lack of transparency regarding COVID-19 on campus and risks of in-person classes. College president Matkin overruled faculty concerns about virus protections in June 2020, stating the campus would remain open. In August 2020, he downplayed the virus, stating the national case count is "clearly inflated". During that Fall 2020 semester, a faculty member, a student and a staff member all died of COVID-19 . Iris Meda, a recently retired nurse, had begun teaching nursing assistant classes in August 2020. According to her family, she came in contact with a sick student in October and died in mid-November. [ 34 ] The staff were informed of her death as an information item 22 paragraphs deep in an email titled "College Update & Happy Thanksgiving!" [ 33 ] [ 35 ] [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ] [ 40 ] A student died of COVID-19 in October 2020, and a food-service employee infection led to the closure of the cafeteria, though faculty only learned about the infections informally. The school's services went virtual after classes ended for the semester on December 14. Services resumed in-person, in January, after the normal holiday break. [ 33 ] [ 41 ] [ 35 ] [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] Later, in August 2021, dean of nursing Jane Leach also died from COVID-19. [ 42 ]