Lone Star College System - History and Name Changes

History and Name Changes

The voters of the Aldine, Spring, and Humble school districts created North Harris County College in 1972 and opened the college for classes in 1973.

The district expanded in 1991 to cover neighboring Montgomery County and adopted the new name of North Harris Montgomery Community College District.

As the district expanded to include areas outside north Harris and Montgomery Counties, the Board of Trustees decided the District's current name did not adequately define the service area, plus it was hard to remember and was quite lengthy. During the first semester of the 2007 - 2008 school year, trustees initiated a name-change process using an online voting system ; among the options was the name Lone Star College System which was offered as 1) two of the colleges (Lone Star College–North Harris and Lone Star College–Montgomery) already included the name and 2) the 75th Texas Legislature adopted HR1123, recognizing Montgomery County as the birthplace of the Flag of Texas, known for its lone star which serves as the state motto.

The name Lone Star College System was selected by those voting, and on November 1, 2007, the Board of Trustees officially approved Lone Star College System as the District's new name. The Lone Star College logo, known as "The Star of Tomorrow," was designed by Houston advertising agency Richards/Carlberg.

On May 1, 2009, Lone Star College System has purchased the core of the Hewlett Packard(part of Compaq's former headquarters) North Campus on State Highway 249 at Louetta Road in Northwest Harris County. According to Chancellor Richard Carpenter, the facility will serve multiple purposes, including a new university center for north Harris County, an instructional satellite campus, a Corporate College conference and training facility, and System administration and support space. The purchase gives LSCS 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of additional space in eight major buildings, as well as parking garages and other support infrastructure, making this one of the largest such acquisitions in higher education history.