November 3, 2014 | Due to forecasted inclement weather for Wednesday, the Texarkana College Foundation will postpone the dedication ceremony of the Health Science Center in honor of the late Dr. William R. Patterson to Thursday, November 6, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will take place on the grounds of the new Health Science Center facing the Nelson Administration building. A reception will follow the ceremony.
Dr. Patterson was instrumental in the establishment of Texarkana College’s Associate Degree Nursing program in 1959, the first accredited associate nursing degree program in Texas and one of the first in the entire Southwest. Patterson served on the Texarkana College Board of Trustees from 1957 through 1981, longer than any other board member. In 1981, he was appointed by the Governor of Texas to serve as a member of the Texas Coordinating Board of Colleges and Universities (now the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board), where he served for six years. He is also credited for founding the Texarkana College Foundation, which will accept the $1 million gift from his son- and daughter-in-law, Cary and Lois Patterson, at the dedication ceremony.
To date, the donation from Cary and Lois Patterson is the largest single gift the Texarkana College Foundation has ever received.
