page_title: Central Texas College
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Central Texas College / History
caption_attribution_description: English: At sea aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) Sep. 18, 2002 -- Dr. Minoru Fukuda instructs sixty two crewmembers aboard USS Essex in elementary Japanese in the ship’s chapel lounge. Dr. Fukuda is a contracted instructor, through Central Texas College (CTC), assigned to provide Program Afloat College Education (PACE) to Sailors assigned to deployed ships. PACE college courses are provided by regionally accredited colleges and universities and give Sailors the opportunity to experience challenging education while on sea duty assignments. Essex is in the vicinity of Okinawa, Japan, conducting Amphibious Readiness Group Exercises with Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Clover B. Christensen. (RELEASED)
context_page_description: Central Texas College is a community college in Killeen, Texas. Founded in 1965, it has branch campuses in Europe.
context_section_description: Central Texas College was established by the citizens of Central Texas in 1965 to serve the western section of Bell County, Texas.  The campus was constructed on more than 500 acres of land donated by Fort Hood between Killeen and Copperas Cove.  In September 1967, the school opened its doors to 2,068 students.  CTC has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1969.
  As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of CTC comprises:
  All of Coryell, Hamilton, Lampasas, Llano, Mason, Mills, and San Saba Counties
  Killeen Independent School District, located in Bell County
  Copperas Cove Independent School District, located in Bell and Coryell Counties
  Fort Hood and North Fort Hood in Bell County
  Brady, Lohn, and Rochelle school districts located within McCulloch County
  Burnet Consolidated Independent School District located within Burnet County
  Florence and Marble Falls school districts
  The portion of the Lampasas Independent School District located within Burnet and Bell Counties
  Due to its proximity to the US Army installation at Fort Hood, Central Texas College has evolved from a small junior college into a community college catering to the military. CTC instituted classes and programs on Fort Hood in 1970 and in Europe in 1974. Success with the military led to branch campuses at military installations such as Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, South Korea, and on-ship with the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets of the US Navy in 1976. By the early 1980s, CTC offered classes to military personnel in the Pacific Command, Alaska, and Panama. CTC offered classes for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the prisons at Gatesville, Texas, in 1976.
  Central Texas College had a nationally ranked tennis team in the early 1970s, playing as the Golden Eagles.  In 2013, a campus-wide vote led to the selection of CTC's new official mascot, the Eagle.
  Classes used to be held at many military bases around the world. Now they are held at a few military bases in Europe and military bases across the US.
caption: Dr. Minoru Fukuda, contracted instructor through Central Texas College, teaches crewmembers aboard the USS Essex in elementary Japanese
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