Many were concerned that the conversion of Texas A&M-CC to a full four year college in 1994 would mean the end of Del Mar’s academic program and status as a premiere junior college. But, talk about the death of Del Mar was premature. After five years of declining enrollment, the numbers leveled off and actually began to rise again. In June 2000, the $7.6 million Solomon Coles Classroom building opened on the East Campus. It was the first new building on the campus in 10 years, and was part of the first new Master Plan for the college since 1986. Millions of dollars in new construction were planned and funding for many of the projects was already in place. In July 2000, work began on an expansion of the Harvin Student Center and construction of a new, $950,000 entrance to the college on Baldwin. Academically, Del Mar added new programs in Forensics, e-commerce, health information, and computer science. A major effort was underway to equip the college with the latest in computer technology.
In September 2002, Del Mar opened the $4.7 million “Morris L. Lichtenstein, Jr. Center for Early Learning”, designed by Jack Solka. In addition to providing day-care for the children of Del Mar students, the center is also a learning environment for at least 10 different College programs.
Voters supported Del Mar College in 2003 with passage of a $108 million bond package. The bond money would fund the most ambitious construction plan in the history of the college. The majority of the money ($53 million) would be spent on new buildings and renovations on the West Campus. These included a new Health Science Center, a new Public Safety building to house the Fire Science Academy, Homeland Security programs, and a “New Technologies” building for Aviation, Auto Mechanics, and Electrical Engineering programs. The East Campus would have $26 million for new buildings and renovations, and Richardson Auditorium, built in 1951, would get a $3 million facelift. Del Mar would also spend $3.4 million to convert the old Albertson’s grocery store on Staples at Kostoryz into a “Center for Economic Workforce and Community Education”. The conversion would create 46 new classrooms and in effect become a new “South Campus” for Del Mar College.
By 2005, Del Mar academic enrollment had climbed to over 11,000. New construction was underway all over the campus, and some innovative new programs were being planned. In 2006, Del Mar became the site of the city’s first “Collegiate High School”. Funded by CCISD, incoming high school freshmen, many of them “at risk” students, would undergo four years of rigorous study. By the time of graduation, they will have earned not only a high school diploma but also 60 hours of tuition free college credits.
Dr. Mark Escamilla, born in Corpus Christi and a former Del Mar student himself, assumed the role of President of Del Mar College in 2008 at the age of 38. Over the past 16 years, he has presided over the largest expansion in the school’s history.
In 2010, Del Mar leased the old Calallen Orthopedic and Sports Medical Center. After a $979,000 renovation, the building became Del Mar’s “Northwest Center”. The center would open to serve students from the Calallen and Robstown area in the fields of Health Science, Nursing, Public Safety and First Responders, and Renewable Energy. In 2014, voters approved a $157 million bond package for Del Mar. At the time, Del Mar was serving over 22,220 students in credit, technical, and continuing education courses. The East campus was in dire need of more space and renovation of older buildings. The same was true on the West Campus of Del Mar Tech. Major new industries were locating in and around Corpus Christi and those industries looked to Del Mar to train the workforce to run them. The 2014 bond would fund 3 new buildings on the East Campus and one new building on the West Campus. Del Mar Regents voted to use $1.8 million of the 2014 bond money to begin planning for a new campus on the city’s far south side on Yorktown at Rodd Field Road. The college had purchased 96 acres of land at that intersection in 2013 for $6 million. Construction of the new campus would require another bond election, which voters approved in November of 2016. The $139 million bond would finance Phase 1 of the construction, which would begin in December 2019. Phase 1 would include construction of three large buildings:
A 103,000 square foot “Main Building” to house Administration, the Library, and Student Services
A “STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Building to house classrooms and labs for those subjects
A “Culinary Arts” building containing culinary teaching labs, a dining hall, coffee shop, and a 450 seat community center.
(Another new building is currently nearing completion on the campus. The City of Corpus Christi leased 9 acres of land from Del Mar for construction of a new, state of the art Police Training Academy, due to open in November 2024).
Construction was completed and the new campus opened in April 2023. With its opening, Del Mar assigned new names to its three campus locations. The new Yorktown location would be called the “Oso Creek Campus”. The original East Campus on Baldwin is now called the “Heritage Campus”, and the old West Campus on Old Brownsville Road would be re-named the “Windward Campus”.
Today, Del Mar College offers over 100 degree and certificate options. Del Mar’s Continuing Education courses prepare students for employability, a career change, a way to expand recreational interests, and promote life-long learning. Over the past 90 years, Del Mar College has educated and enriched the lives of hundreds of thousands of Corpus Christi and Coastal Bend students. Its value to our community is immeasurable.
Robert Parks is a special contributor to KRIS 6 News. Parks was a history teacher at Carroll High School for 19 years and is now retired. His knowledge of Corpus Christi history makes him a unique expert in the subject.