The Texas Hill Country Higher Education Development Foundation (dba Hill Country University Center Foundation) was formed as a nonprofit 501(c)3 in 2003. Its mission was to provide local, affordable higher educational opportunities in the Texas Hill Country. In 2010, the Foundation built the Hill Country University Center (HCUC) on 17 acres of land leased from the City of Fredericksburg. The Foundation owned and operated the 24,000 square foot academic facility which served as a teaching site for Texas Tech University-Fredericksburg (TTU). Our academic partner, TTU, provides the student classes while HCUC provides the academic facility.
HCUC’s goal was to provide an opportunity for Texas Hill Country students to overcome the three biggest barriers to the pursuit of higher education: availability, proximity to home, and cost. Students can pursue associate and higher education degrees without leaving the communities in which they reside in the Texas Hill Country.
Due to cost of living, the after math of COVID, and increasing costs of maintenance, HCUCF sold the building to the City of Fredericksburg and changed its name to the Forging Futures Education Fund (FFEF) in August of 2024. FFEF will continue to provide an expanded scholarship program for Gillespie County students and residents.
