Tom McGowan, assistant director of bands at Tyler Junior College, performs next to a large inflatable "90" in honor of TJC's 90th anniversary year during the annual Fall Convocation for faculty and staff on Tuesday at the Wise Auditorium on campus. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph

The lights went black in Wise Auditorium. When the stage lights came on, a band appeared. And within seconds the sounds of Van Halen’s “Right Now” filled the packed building at Tyler Junior College.

In a most unexpected move, the community college kicked off its 90th year and fall convocation with a rock concert.

A band comprising four faculty members including TJC Provost Dr. Juan Mejia, who came up with the idea, brought down the house.

“Everybody comes into it expecting one thing, and to kind of hit them with something different at the very beginning, that was our … goal,” drum player Jeremy Strickland, who is TJC’s band director, said.

With the crowd of TJC employees energized, President Dr. Mike Metke took the stage.

Metke provided an optimistic address leading off by sharing that “I’ve never felt better about our legislative relations.”

Metke attributed this feeling to Jacob Fraire, the recently appointed president/CEO of the Texas Association of Community Colleges; the East Texas legislative team; and the respect community colleges are receiving nationally for their role in addressing society’s problems.

Community colleges are poised to provide the education and opportunities people need to make a living, he said.

“We provide lifetime employability and we do it better, cheaper and faster than anyone else …” said Metke, who has been at TJC’s help for almost nine years. “I’m so proud of the resurgence that’s happening not just nationwide, but here in Tyler.”

Metke highlighted some of the reasons TJC is at the top of its game. The Robert M. Rogers Nursing and Health Sciences Center served as the site of a weeklong medical and dental outreach that involved multiple higher education institutions and hospitals; the college is going to launch a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene and a veterinary technician program this fall; and the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program ranked TJC as one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges.

Some 75 percent of TJC students say the college was their first choice, and 94 percent of students say they would choose it again.

“I’m so proud TJC really is the college of East Texas, the college of choice,” Metke said.

Looking to the future, Metke announced the creation of the TJC Promise Scholarship in celebration of the college’s 90th anniversary.

The earned scholarship will be available to eligible high school graduates starting in the fall of 2020 within the TJC tax district, which includes: Chapel Hill, Grand Saline, Lindale, Tyler, Van and Winona.

The scholarship will cover tuition and fees at TJC for two years for qualifying students. It is a “safety net” scholarship meaning that it would come into play after other forms of financial aid have been used, Metke said.

The college is seeking $20 million to endow the program in perpetuity. An anonymous donor already has pledged $5 million.

The first eligible students will be this year’s high school freshmen who would start college in the fall of 2020.

“This is the most ambitious plan in our history,” Metke said. “The school superintendents are calling it a game changer.”

TJC psychology professor Dr. Otis S. Webster called the convocation excellent.

“It (exemplifies) the fact that TJC not only has a rich past, but a rich present and a great promising future,” Webster said.

EMS professions instructor Scott Miles said the opening event was awesome and exciting, “a good start to a new year.”

Academic adviser May Wright said she was surprised by the rock band performance, but called it a lot of fun.

“I’m glad to see that they’re showing the talent of faculty and students,” she said.

Ms. Wright said she appreciated Metke’s message, too.

“This is my first time to work in a community college setting,” she said, “and it’s really encouraging to me as far as I picked a place to work that’s going to make a difference in the world.”

Twitter: @TMTEmily