LONG BEACH, CA – A shared commitment to student success is uniting four Texas community colleges – Brazosport College, Clarendon College, Texarkana College, and Hill College – to strengthen campus cultures of care through Caring Campus, with support from the Trellis Foundation.

The Trellis Foundation grant, officially completed at the end of December 2025, has been instrumental in launching Caring Campus at each institution, providing the resources needed to train staff, implement proven strategies, and intentionally focus on human connection across campuses. At Brazosport College, leadership has leveraged the support of the Trellis Foundation to implement Caring Campus for staff and has chosen to further extend that commitment by investing institutional funds to bring Caring Campus to faculty as well.

“Caring Campus is phenomenal, and we wanted to invest our own dollars to ensure faculty receive the same coaching as staff,” Brazosport College President Dr. Vincent Solis said. “It’s important that all employees are balanced and aligned around the shared goal of connecting with students where they are at. We truly believe in Caring Campus.”

Campus feedback has consistently shown that Brazosport College provides a welcoming, hospitable environment for students who attend in-person. Through Caring Campus, the college hopes to further elevate this on-campus caring culture, while also strengthening interactions with students online and over the phone, ensuring the same level of care is felt across all interactions.

While Brazosport is still in the early stages of implementation, meaningful changes are already underway. Staff are wearing name tags to increase approachability, Caring Campus is a regular topic in executive council, provost, and leadership meetings, and employees are being more intentional about connecting with students in advising sessions, hallways, and common spaces.

“The most important aspect of Caring Campus is that it addresses what many colleges are struggling with today, which is human connection,” Solis said. “In a world dominated by AI and social media, Caring Campus teaches us to purposefully connect with people in meaningful ways. We need that now more than ever.”

The Trellis Foundation grant has helped expand Caring Campus across Texas, supporting colleges as they build intentional, sustainable cultures of care for students.

“Brazosport, Clarendon, Texarkana, and Hill colleges are making meaningful progress in creating environments where students feel seen and supported,” Caring Campus founder and CEO Dr. Brad Phillips said. “Thank you to the Trellis Foundation for helping make this vital work possible.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

IEBC_BRAZOSPORT1: After staff participated in Caring Campus through a Trellis Foundation grant, Brazosport College leadership decided to invest institutional funds to bring Caring Campus to faculty as well.

IEBC_BRAZOSPORT2: Through Caring Campus, Brazosport College hopes to further elevate their on-campus caring culture, while also strengthening interactions with students online and over the phone.