Hill Country University Center
The Hill Country University Center is where eager-to-learn minds gather
to pursue higher education in the Texas Hill Country.
Our Mission
The Hill Country University Center provides affordable higher education opportunities
for residents of the Texas Hill Country.
History
At one time, pursuing a college education without leaving the Texas Hill Country seemed impossible. While education served as an important cornerstone since the founding of the local communities, the region’s homegrown students were forced to leave Fredericksburg to gain any type of post-secondary learning. To address that need, the Hill Country University Center (HCUC) was built in 2010 by the Hill Country University Center Foundation, which owns and operates the facility. The Hill Country University Center is a 24,000 square-foot facility that includes seven classrooms, ten offices, a science laboratory, student lounge, computer lab, and the HEB Community Events Center.
The HCUC provides an opportunity for our Texas Hill Country residents to overcome the three biggest barriers to the pursuit of higher education – availability, proximity to home, and cost. The HCUC serves as a teaching site for our academic partners, Central Texas College and the Texas Tech University Regional Teaching Site in Fredericksburg, where students can pursue associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees, while realizing considerable savings without leaving the communities in which they live. Our academic partners provide higher education opportunities and the HCUC provides the academic facility.
The majority of students attending classes at the HCUC participate in a 2+2 program in which they complete their lower-level freshman and sophomore courses offered by Central Texas College, earning an associate degree, then transfer to Texas Tech University to complete upper division junior and senior-level courses, earning a bachelor degree. Degrees at the HCUC are designed to align with local workforce needs and employment opportunities such as teaching, business, the wine industry, and hospitality.
Hill Country University Center Foundation
Board of Directors – Officers
Chair
President – Heartland Enterprises
Bob Hickerson
Vice Chair
Higher Education Administration (Retired)
Treasurer
Owner – Ranching and Investments
Board Members
LeeAnn Bailey
Realtor
Portfolio Real Estate-KW, Fredericksburg
Jesse Barter
President
Texas Food and Wine Hunters
Ken Carr
Owner
Carr Development, Inc.
Rorie Cartier, Ph.D.
Museum Director
National Museum of the Pacific War
Caroline Eidson, Ph.D.
Education Consultant
Christine Granados
Managing Editor
Rock & Vine Magazine
Brad Hardin
Community Bank President
First United Bank
Bud Harris
Community College Executive (Retired)
aRay Hawkins, Ph.D.
Community College President (Retired)
J. Thomas Hutton, M.D., Ph.D.
Physician (Retired)
Trudy Hutton, J.D.
Attorney (Retired)
Jim Mikula
Director of Development and Operations
Gable S Corporation
Pat Moore
CPA and Registered Investment Manager
Private Group Wealth Management
Eric Mustard
Owner
Mustard Designs
Mike Reno
Chief Operating Officer
Hill Country Memorial Hospital
Evelyn Washburne
Co-Founder
Austin Street Group
Marc Williamson, Ed.D.
Education Administration (Retired)
Ex-Officio Members
Jeff Brasher, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Fredericksburg Independent School District
Kristy Kothe
Hill Country Site Coordinator
Central Texas College
Mark Pollett
Associate Dean, Service Area
Central Texas College
Otto Ratheal
Interim Site Director
Texas Tech University