Farewell, Robert Muñoz

Robert Muñoz is a dean at Odessa College, and he's spent years as an involved member of the local community - but his life is about to completely change.

After nearly 30 years in Odessa he's moving to Cowtown to become the vice president of continuing education for Tarrant County College's brand spanking new Trinity River campus in downtown Fort Worth.

"It's a sad day," Carol Uranga, executive director of the Hispanic Heritage, said. "We will be losing an influential member of our community."

The 52-year-old has been with Odessa College since he took his first class in business management in 1982.

He's since been a professor, department chair of management and business administration, and the dean of several departments. He's currently the dean of workforce and technical studies.

"I genuinely appreciate the work that Muñoz has done at Odessa College," Clayton Alred, vice president for instruction, said.

Alred said he's watched Muñoz advance over the years and is proud of him.

Muñoz first moved to Odessa in 1979 while working with the Texas Department of Agriculture. Already holding a bachelor's of science in criminal justice from University of Texas at El Paso, he decided to get an associate's degree in business management to further his career with the state.

He had no idea he had such an ambitious future in education, he said, until a professor of his said he needed help teaching a course. He started teaching part time then, and later full time in 1992.

"He made an easy transition from business to education," Alred said.

And he grew from there, particularly when "Vance Gipson came into my life," Muñoz said. "He took me under his wing."

Odessa College's last president, Gipson, encouraged Muñoz to start trekking on a path to become the president of a community college. That involved getting his master's degree, followed by a doctorate in education administration, which he completed in December 2007.

Muñoz said he's excited about helping to build a new campus from the ground up, physically and ideologically. This is his main reason for choosing the Cowtown campus to further his career.

He'll work close with two other vice presidents and associate vice chancellor for teaching and learning services, Tahita Fulkerson.

"The team of four of us will plan the new campus," she said. 

The Trinity River Campus at Tarrant County College hasn't completed building its campus in downtown Fort Worth, and classes are expected to start in September 2009.

Munoz' new direct supervisor, Fulkerson, said she looks forward to working with the Odessan because of his devotion to community involvement and his expertise in academic matters.

"He appealed to me immediately," she said.

Muñoz will be one of four leaders in charge of planning the new campus. But that doesn't completely assuage the difficulty of leaving.

"I'm going to miss the friends I made here, and the ability to contribute to the community," he said.

He does have big plans in Fort Worth, though, he said. There's also more room for growth at the developing campus.

He said he wants to serve the community well and increase enrollment, particularly among the Hispanic community.

It doesn't stop there. 

"My goal is to be president of a community college one day," he said.