Blinn board authorizes purchase of 100-acre site in Waller-Harris County

New location will be home to Blinn’s sixth campus

September 17, 2024

At its regular meeting on Tuesday, the Blinn College District Board of Trustees authorized the purchase of a 100-acre site in Waller-Harris County, taking a significant step toward establishing a new campus in the eastern portion of Blinn’s service area.

During the meeting, Trustee Charles Moser announced his retirement from the board after nine years of service. Richard O’Malley, former Assistant Vice Chancellor, will fill Moser’s seat as the At-Large Position 1 representative.

Regarding the Waller-Harris County land purchase, the board unanimously authorized the College to purchase the property located on Binford Road near Highway 290. Blinn plans to transform the site into a comprehensive commuter campus that will offer both academic and workforce training programs. The next step in the development process is to create a programming and facilities plan to ensure the campus meets the needs of students and the community.

“This acquisition marks an exciting and significant milestone in our commitment to serving the growing needs of our community,” said Dr. Mary Hensley, Chancellor of the Blinn College District. “The greater Waller-Harris County area is experiencing rapid development, and this new campus will provide students in the eastern portion of our service area with convenient access to Blinn's renowned educational programming. By expanding our presence in Waller and Harris County, we offer these students the tools they need to succeed academically and professionally.”

The location will be Blinn’s sixth, joining its Brenham, Bryan, RELLIS, Schulenburg, and Sealy campuses. Blinn currently offers evening courses at Waller ISD facilities, and these will remain available as the College develops its new campus site. For more information about these courses, visit www.blinn.edu/waller.

At the end of the meeting, Moser announced that it would be his final session as a Blinn trustee. Since joining the board in July 2015, Moser has served two terms as Board Chair and one as Board Secretary. His leadership helped guide the College through significant advancements, including Blinn’s partnership with The Texas A&M University System as a member of the RELLIS Academic Alliance at Texas A&M-RELLIS.

Under Moser’s leadership, Blinn modernized facilities on its Brenham, Bryan, and RELLIS campuses and launched a variety of new academic and workforce programs. These include certificates and degrees in fields such as carpentry, cloud computing, drone technology, facility maintenance, HVAC, simulation and game programming, water purification, and web programming. Blinn also launched new athletic programs in esports, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s cross country.

O’Malley, who was appointed to fill Moser’s seat, retired in January following a 16-year career with Blinn. After working as a civil engineer in the private sector, O’Malley was hired as Executive Director of Facilities, Planning, and Construction in 2008. In 2014, he was promoted to Assistant Vice President, then became the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Facilities, Planning, and Construction in 2017.