Frank Phillips College Allen Campus

Student Resource Center

The Student Resource Center provides students a place to:

• Study, complete assignments, and have access to computers.

• Access and request books and other materials from the Harrington Library Consortium.

• Utilize current and back issues of several area and regional newspapers as well as popular periodicals.

Contact Information

Address:
2314 S. Jefferson, Perryton, Texas 79070

Phone Number:
806-648-1450

Fax Number:
806-648-1452

Business Hours:
Monday - Thursday from 7:00 am - 6:00 pm
Friday - Closed

Summer Hours:
Monday - Thursday from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday - Closed

History

The Perryton Branch Campus: The Allen Campus

In 1999, Ochiltree area officials and citizens formed the Higher Education Alliance Team (HEAT) to oversee planning and fundraising efforts for the proposed Perryton FPC Branch Campus. In January of 2001, voters in Ochiltree County approved by a solid majority a maintenance and operation tax to support the FPC Perryton Branch campus. That, along with approval of the plan by the Texas Higher Education Coordination Board in its January meeting, cleared the way for the process of constructing a branch campus. FPC then kicked off the “It’s a Reality” construction campaign for the FPC Perryton Campus.

In 2002, a campus liaison was hired to assist the development of academic and continuing education offerings, as well as to coordinate the publicity and fund raising campaigns. The summer enrollment for Perryton exceeded expectations and doubled previous years’ numbers. A temporary classroom site, located at 9 Southeast 2^nd Avenue, and temporary office space, located at Perryton Chamber of Commerce, was secured to enhance the presence of PFC Perryton while the fund raising campaign for the million dollar private contributions had been secured, and five rooms had been name. Perryton and Borger officials filled out applications and wrote grants, hoping for another million and a half dollars. They submitted $1.5 million grant in June to the Economic Development Administration toward the construction costs of the branch campus in Perryton. That grant application earned them one million dollars.

The 25,000 square-foot, $3.8 million-dollar building, located at 24^th Avenue and Jefferson Street in Perryton was paid for by money pledged by the Perryton Community Development Corporation, the Perryton Higher Education Alliance Team, and from grants and donations. The floor plan includes three classrooms, two technical labs, two computer labs, three distance learning classrooms, a conference center, and a student resource center.

The Allen Campus opened in the fall of 2005 so that students in Ochiltree County and the surrounding area would have full access to all services available at the college’s campus in Borger. Students choose from a wide variety of instructional programs as well as a full complement of student support services. Students receive academic career counseling, financial aid, grants, scholarship information, access to library resources both on-site and via the Internet, and business and industrial training.  The Allen Campus continues to grow and thrive by serving the community with educational opportunities that work with it's ever changing rural education needs. 

The Allen Campus; The Origin Behind the Name

The Allen Campus is named in honor of the Jack and Rita Allen family.  Jack and Rita Allen, as well as generations before and after them, have long been proponents of education and progress in this corner of rural Texas.  The Allen Campus would not be possible without their generosity and at their request the true focus of the name “Allen Campus” is to rest with Jack and Rita’s parents, who were long time Ochiltree County residents and supporters. 

Jack was born in Perryton, where he attended school and graduated from Perryton High School.  After serving in the United States Army and the Ninth Air Force in the European Theater during World War II, Jack received a law degree from the University of Texas.  He returned to Perryton to practice law and actively worked on numerous civic committees, including the Perryton ISD school board and the Texas Association of School Boards.  Using his background in law, Jack became involved in the oil business.  He worked as president of Independent Petroleum Association of America for two years on various national, state, and local energy issues.

Rita graduated from Sonora High School.  She received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Texas.  She and Jack were married in 1947.  In Perryton, she volunteered with the First United Methodist Church and civic organizations, such as PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) and the Jennie June Club, to help make the town an excellent place to live and raise her family.  They have four children, Kay Ferrell, Nancy Bowdre, Suzanne Willis, and Brent Allen.

Rita’s mother, Louise Howell, rode a horse to teach in a 1-room schoolhouse in rural Mississippi.  She was later a homemaker.  Rita’s father, Frank “Doc” Howell, practiced medicine as a general practitioner in Sonora, Texas.  He served a widespread area of West Texas, making distant house calls.  Since there was no hospital, he would often travel in the back of an ambulance to San Angelo or San Antonio with his patients.

Jack’s mother, Kathryn Allen, came to Perryton as a schoolteacher soon after it became a town.  After marriage, she became a homemaker who worked hard volunteering for many different causes to help Perryton grow into a quality community.  His father, Jack R., was the first male graduate of Ochiltree High School and later taught in several one-room rural schools in Ochiltree County.  He studied law at the University of Texas, returned to practice law in Perryton, and later became District Judge for the 84^th Judicial District, which included Ochiltree County.

Both sets of parents were heavily involved in their communities and made sacrifices to educate their children.  Because they believed that higher education promotes progress for the area and a higher standard of living for those who strive to learn, they would be thrilled to see the progress being made in Perryton through the Frank Phillips College Allen Campus.

Jack and Rita Allen have strived to serve their community and country in an exemplary way.  Their generosity will make a positive impact on the Perryton area for generations to come.