UNCF has announced a $12 million gift from the James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation to strengthen HBCU endowments and expand pathways in health care and education. Jarvis Christian University will receive $1 million of that gift.
The Hawkins campus is the only college in Wood County. University officials said the gift will never be spent, only grown.
New programs planned
President Dr. Glenell M. Lee Pruitt said the funding will support new programs at the university.
“You may also leave with a phlebotomy certification, which means you can go right into the workforce, even while you are preparing to maybe go to graduate school,” Lee Pruitt said.
Rural health care and education shortages
A 2026 analysis found 55% of Texas’ rural hospitals are at risk of closing. Trinity County lost its only hospital in 2025, leaving residents a 20 to 30 minute drive for emergency care.
Nearly 4 in 10 new teachers in Texas are not certified, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Ja’Dareuse Simmons, a biology major at Jarvis, said he and his classmates hope to help address the shortage.
“My fellow classmates can, you know, come with the idea of going to the rural areas and actually starting our own practices there, or however, try to see if this possible to reopen a hospital that was shut down in rural areas,” Simmons said.
Students focused on solutions
Alexis Ojeda, an education major at Jarvis, works with kids across East Texas. She said she sees a gap in literacy and wants to help.
“My concentration is literally English and literacy. And unfortunately, there is a huge gap in literacy,” Ojeda said.
Ojeda said she is working on her own solution.
“We’ll be having writing workshops and reading workshops,” Ojeda said.
Part of a larger goal
The $1 million gift is part of a larger goal. Jarvis Christian University is building toward a $10 million endowment. The university has $4 million left to raise to reach that goal.