Texas A&M University

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Texas A&M University

Established	1871[1]
Type	Flagship state university
Endowment	$5.6 billion (Systemwide)
President	Dr. Robert M. Gates
Provost	Dr. David B. Prior
Faculty	3,689[2]
Students	45,380
Undergraduates	36,580
Postgraduates	4,839
Doctoral students	3,452
Location	College Station, Texas, USA
Telephone	1-979-845-3211
Campus	Urban, 5,200 acres (21 km²)
Colors	Maroon and white
Nickname	Aggies
Mascot	Reveille VII
Affiliations	AAU, Big 12
Website	www.tamu.edu

Texas A&M University, often Texas A&M, A&M or TAMU for short, is the flagship^[3] institution of the Texas A&M University System. Texas A&M's triple designation as a Land-, Sea-, and Space-Grant institution reflects a broad range of research, with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. Working in partnership with state agencies such as the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M has a direct presence in every county in the state.^[4]

Texas A&M offers degrees in over 150 courses of study through ten colleges and is home to 18 research institutes. Since its opening as an institute of higher education in 1876, Texas A&M has awarded more than 320,000 degrees, including 70,000 graduate and professional degrees. Texas A&M is one of three schools with a full-time corps of cadets program, and it provides more commissioned officers to the United States Armed Forces than any other non-military institution.^[5]

On November 8, 2006, President George W. Bush nominated Texas A&M President (and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency) Robert M. Gates as the next U.S. Secretary of Defense, replacing Donald Rumsfeld. Gates was confirmed by the Senate by a margin of 95-2.

Contents 1 History 2 Academics 2.1 Endowment 2.2 Research 2.2.1 Undergraduate Research 2.3 Worldwide 2.4 Rankings 3 Campus 3.1 Aggieland 3.2 Notable buildings 4 Student Life 4.1 Student Organizations 4.2 Residential Life 4.3 School Events 4.4 Student Government 5 Traditions 6 Athletics 6.1 Titles 6.2 Athletic Venues 7 Student publications and media 8 Notable people 9 External links 10 References

[edit] History

Main article: History of Texas A&M University

The basis for funding for the college was established by the Morrill Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1862, which provided for donation of public land (land grants) to the states. The land could then be sold at public auction to establish a permanent fund to support a college where the "leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanical arts...in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life." In 1871, the Texas legislature passed legislation to establish the college and provide appropriations for building the campus. The college opened for classes in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. In 1963, the legislature changed the name to "Texas A&M University" to reflect the expanded roles and academic offerings of the university. Officially the letters "A&M" no longer have any explicit meaning, but they are retained as a link to the university's past.^[6]

In addition to being designated as a land-grant university, Texas A&M was given the designation of sea-grant in 1971 in recognition of its oceanographic and marine research contributions. In 1989, it was also awarded the title of space-grant by NASA, in recognition of its commitment to space research and participation in the Texas Space Grant Consortium. Texas A&M is currently one of 13 universities to be triple designated as land-, sea-, and space-grant.

In May 2001, the Association of American Universities selected Texas A&M for membership, thanks in part to strong support from Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin.^[7]

[edit] Academics

Texas A&M University has an enrollment of 45,380 students^[8] pursuing degrees in 10 academic colleges, which currently makes it the seventh largest university in the United States. Former university president Ray Bowen (1994-2002) led Texas A&M University through a process of strategic evaluation and planning renewal, resulting in the "Vision 2020" strategic plan. Vision 2020's overall goal is to make Texas A&M one of the top 10 public universities in the United States by the year 2020, by leveraging resources and new investments across all areas of the institution from faculty investments, new research infrastructure, and leading edge information technology. Under the current leadership of president Dr. Robert M. Gates (2002-present), former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the university has narrowed its focus to four key parts of the "Vision 2020" plan, namely 1) improving student diversity, 2) increasing the size of the faculty, 3) building new academic facilities, and 4) enriching the undergraduate and graduate education experience.^[9] Under Dr. Gates' leadership, significant progress has been made in each of these areas, including the addition of 440 new faculty positions as well as dramatic increases in enrollment by minority students. Texas A&M's ten colleges are:

• Mays Business School
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• College of Architecture
• College of Education and Human Development
• Dwight Look College of Engineering
• College of Geosciences
• George Bush School of Government and Public Service
• College of Liberal Arts
• College of Science
• College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences

[edit] Endowment

Texas A&M University System is a minority stakeholder in an endowment known as the Permanent University Fund established within Texas, and holding around $15 billion. Texas A&M’s endowment share totals approximately $5.6 billion)^[10]; 10th largest in the nation and fourth among public university systems. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas A&M, but today its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the university's annual budget. This has challenged the university to increase sponsored research and private donations.

[edit] Research

Texas A&M University's Research Park consists of 11,400 acres with 2.58 million square feet of dedicated research space. More than 1,100 faculty members were involved in more than 3,300 sponsored research projects in 2004. Research funding during the 2004 year totaled more than $520 million, ranking Texas A&M among the top 20 research institutes in the United States, with funding increasing to more than $100 million from 1994 to 2004. The university has research and exchange agreements with approximately 100 institutions in about 40 nations, including two international centers -- the Mexico City Center and the Santa Chiara Study Abroad Center in Italy, and an engineering branch campus in Doha, Qatar.^[11]

Texas A&M University is the leading university in animal cloning. Spearheaded by the College of Veterinary Medicine, A&M was the first university in the world to clone a domestic animal (a cat), thanks in part to funding from John Sperling.^[12] A&M is the first known in the world to have cloned six different species, a Boer goat, several pigs, a Brahman Bull, the first Disease-resistant Angus Bull, the first white tail deer, the first cat and the first horse by an academic institution. The new pet cloning company, Genetic Savings & Clone Inc., has been created with a partnership from Texas A&M's Missyplicity team. A&M has also participated in a joint project with Viagen, Inc. to clone the deer and Cryozootech to clone the horse. ^[13]

In 2004, Texas A&M and its research agencies received nearly $400 million in new awards, an increase of more than $125 million over a 10-year period. The A&M System faculty and research submitted 121 new inventions and established 78 new royalty-bearing licensing agreements during the year, receiving $8 million in income from the innovations. The Texas A&M Technology Licensing Office filed for 88 patents for protection of intellectual property in 2004.^[14]

Also in 2004, Texas A&M joined a consortium of universities across America to build an optical telescope in Chile. Consisting of seven mirrors each with a diameter of 8.4 meters, the telescope will have the equivalent of a 24.5 meter primary mirror. With construction slated to be complete in 2016, the Giant Magellan Telescope will be the largest optical telescope ever constructed and ten times more powerful than the Hubble.^[15]

Texas A&M became the first U.S. nuclear research reactor to convert reactor fuel from a highly enriched form to a low-enriched safer form to reduce civilian use of weapon grade uranium. A&M in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration celebrated their success on October 13th, 2006, completing a portion of Bush’s Global Nuclear Threat Reduction Initiative.^[16]

Notable research entities include the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, the Texas Transportation Institute, the Cyclotron Institute, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, and the Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology.

[edit] Undergraduate Research

Research is not limited to only postgraduates, or professors, but is heavily participated in by undergraduates throughout the departments.

Such research includes AggieSat, an undergraduate run organization funded and sponsored by the Aerospace Department to build modularized satellites in conjunction with NASA and the Air force Research Lab. With several satellites slated to be built and launched within the next two years, all work in carried out in the spare time by around 80 undergraduates from 17 different majors with oversight and assistance from graduates of related fields. With the opportunity to expand class room knowledge to practical experience, AggieSat gives any student, of any year and major an opportunity for real world training. ^[17]

[edit] Worldwide

Texas A&M conducts ongoing reasearch and educational projects on all seven continents,^[18] including a multi-purpose center in Mexico City and a study center in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. Additionally, the A&M System includes a branch campus located in Education City in Doha, Qatar devoted to engineering disciplines. Through research and educational partnerships with 100 institutions in 40 nations, more than 1,200 students participated in study abroad or foreign exchange programs in 2003 — 25% of A&M students have international education experience, such as study abroad participation, before graduation.^[19]

Texas A&M's Center for International Business Research and Education is one of 28 in the United States supported by the U.S. Department of Education.^[20] The university is also one of only two American universities in partnership with CONACYT, Mexico's equivalent of the National Science Foundation, to support research in areas including biotechnology, telecommunications, energy, and urban development.^[21] The university is also the home of "Las Americas Digital Research Network," an online architecture network for 26 universities in 12 nations, primarily in Central and South America.^[22]

[edit] Rankings

Texas A&M University is currently ranked 60th overall in the United States and tied with Miami University for 21st among public universities^[23] by U.S. News and World Report. It is ranked as the 25th "Best Value for a Public School" in the nation (in the "In-State" category), and the best value in the state of Texas by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.^[24] The publication The Washington Monthly ranks Texas A&M 5th nationally^[25] with criteria based on research, community service, and social mobility.

Among individual college, departments, and programs:

• A&M's agricultural engineering program is ranked 2nd nationally.^[23]
• The Dwight Look College of Engineering is ranked 14th nationally. The undergraduate petroleum engineering program is ranked 3rd.^[23]
• The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine is consistently ranked in the top 5 vet schools in the country.^[23]
• Mays Business School has numerous top 10 rankings from a variety of sources.^[26]
• The Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M is ranked 21st nationally according to US News. The department's Division of Inorganic Chemistry is ranked 7th.

[edit] Campus

Texas A&M University is one of the largest universities by area in the nation with 5,200 acres^[27] (21 km²) in all. The campus includes approximately 200 buildings with a total value of over $1 billion.

The campus is bisected by a set of railroad tracks. The area east of the railroad tracks is known as "Main Campus" and includes many of the academic buildings, the Memorial Student Center, Kyle Field, and the student dormitories. The portion of the campus west of the railroad tracks is known as "West Campus" and includes most of the other sports facilities, the business school, the veterinary college, and the medical school. The area of West Campus along Kimbrough Boulevard is known as "Research Park" and includes a variety of research facilities plus the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

• See Also:
  • Texas A&M Facilities - a listing of buildings on the Texas A&M University Campus
  • Official Texas A&M University Map

[edit] Aggieland

Texas A&M University's main campus is located in College Station, Texas, and the surrounding area is often referred to as "Aggieland." The metropolitan area of Bryan-College Station, Texas is located within Brazos County in the Brazos Valley/East Texas region of the state. The area's total population was 152,415 in 2000.

Aggieland is centrally located within 200 miles of three of the 10 largest cities in the United States and 75% of the Texas and Louisiana populations (approximately 13.1 million people). The area's major roadway is State Highway 6, and several smaller state highways and Farm to Market Roads connect Aggieland to larger highways such as Interstate 45.

[edit] Notable buildings

Of the over 200 buildings on the Texas A&M University campus, some of the most recognized include the Academic Building, the Albritton Bell Tower, the Administration Building, Kyle Field, the Memorial Student Center (MSC), and the George Bush Presidential Library.

• Academic Building
  • One of the most recognized images of Texas A&M University, the Academic Building stands at the heart of the campus. Completed in 1914, it stands on the site of Old Main, the first campus building that burned in 1912. Of note is its copper dome, which was once polished, but since the polished dome's glare caused too great of danger for pilots landing at nearby Easterwood Airport, the university stopped polishing it. Now the dome has become green, much like the Statue of Liberty is presently. Academic Plaza, which is in front of the Academic Building, is the site of a wide range of campus events, including Silver Taps.

• Albritton Bell Tower
  • Donated to Texas A&M University and dedicated on October 6, 1984 by Martha and Ford D. Albritton, the Albritton Tower is 138 feet tall and contains Westminster chimes which ring every quarter hour. There are 49 carillon bells, the largest of which weighs more than six thousand pounds, that can be programmed to play music such as the "Spirit of Aggieland". The bells also play hymns during Silver Taps, a memorial service for Aggies who have died during the past month.

• Easterwood Airport
  • Texas A&M University owns Easterwood Airport, located on the western portion of campus. Easterwood provides multiple scheduled flights daily to Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas.
  • See also:
    • Easterwood Airport Website
• George Bush Presidential Library
  • Dedicated in 1997 and operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is one of eleven Presidential libraries in the United States. Former President George Bush remains actively involved with both the Bush Library and the nearby George Bush School of Government and Public Service, frequently visiting the campus and participating in special events.

• Jack K. Williams Administration Building
  • The Administration Building is the centerpiece of the main entrance to Texas A&M University. For many years home to all of Texas A&M's administrative offices, the Jack K. Williams Administration Building opened its doors in 1932 and continues to house several Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University System offices and agencies. Designed by Professor C.S.P. Vosper and built by Campus Architect F.E. Giesecke, the monumental classical structure's features include intricate Ionic columns, polished brass handrails along its marble staircases and stained-glass windows. The building was officially named after former Texas A&M University president Jack Williams in 1997 to honor his work in increasing enrollment dramatically while preserving the traditional aura of the campus.
• Laboratories
  • Laboratories on the Texas A&M University campus include the Energy Systems Laboratory, Fiber Optic Lab, Hypermedia Research Lab, Materials and Structures Testing Lab, Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, Turbomachinery Laboratory and the Wave Propagation and Damping Laboratory. Texas A&M is the first academic institution to clone six different species: cattle, a boer goat, pigs, a cat, a deer and a horse.^[28]
• Memorial Student Center (MSC)
  • For more than 50 years, the Memorial Student Center has been a living memorial, a living room, and a living tradition at Texas A&M University. Because the building and grounds are a memorial, those entering the MSC are asked to remove their hats, and walking on the grass outside is prohibited.
• Texas A&M Libraries
  • Libraries on campus include the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the Cushing Memorial Library, the Medical Sciences Library, the Policy Sciences & Economics Library, Sterling C. Evans Library, West Campus Library and the Biological Collections Library.

[edit] Student Life

Students are encouraged to become involved on campus from the moment they attend New Student Conferences, Fish Camp, and Gig 'em Week, Aggieland's official week of welcome.

[edit] Student Organizations

Texas A&M has over 800 student organizations. Texas A&M is host to the largest ROTC affiliated programs in the United States with the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets, which boasts 1,800 members.^[29] The term "The Other Education" is often used to describe the importance of student involvement in extracurricular activities on campus.^[30]

[edit] Residential Life

[edit] School Events

School sponsored events include events such as MSC Open House held around the third week at the beginning of the year for students to find organizations that are of interest and relative to their majors.

Intramural sports are offered through the Student Rec Center, a 373,000 square foot facility. Held year around, sports include but not limited to flag football, volleyball, and soccer. The recreation center features multiple floors of equipment and courts, as well as several indoor running tracks, rock-climbing tower, and a natatorium containing one of the top competitive pools in the country.

[edit] Student Government

Now comprising one of the campuses largest organizations, the Student Government Association consists of 1,200 student members comprising 3 branches of government. SGA started as simply the leadership of the Corps of Cadets but was transformed into a “Student Council” in 1910. Splitting in 1949, the Student Senate (formally “Student Council”) would maintain its role as student representation at A&M, while the new Student Life Committee would be formed to govern over student life. In 1972, a new constitution, similar to the U.S. constitution was ratified by the student body forming 3 branches of government, with a presiding Student Body President. Little has changed since 1972 within the SGA except its relative position with in the official frame work of the university.^[31]

[edit] Traditions

Main article: Traditions of Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University has many time-honored traditions, many of which began when the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas was establish in 1871. Traditions continued to evolve as service in the Corps was no longer a requirement, causing a new generation of students an oportunity to alter Traditions. Such traditions involve university sponsored events such as Silver Taps hornoring students who’ve died, to student run events, including the more recent Student Bonfire.

[edit] Athletics

Main article: Texas Aggie Athletics

A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, Texas A&M now competes in the Big 12 Conference (South Division) of the NCAA's Division I-A. The sports teams are known as the Aggies and the colors are maroon and white.

The university's major rival is the University of Texas Longhorns. In 2004, sporting events between the Aggies and Longhorns became known as the Lone Star Showdown. The most-watched event is the annual football game held on the day after Thanksgiving.

The football team is currently coached by Dennis Franchione. "Coach Fran" struggled with losing seasons in 2003 and 2005 but rebounded with winning seasons in 2004 and 2006. The 2006 squad finished with a 9-3 regular season record, including a 12-7 victory over the Longhorns in Austin. The Aggies will play the California Golden Bears in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 28, broadcast on ESPN at 5:00PM PST.

The men's basketball team is currently coached by Billy Gillispie, and the women's team is coached by Gary Blair. Both lead their respective programs to NCAA postseason appearances in 2006, a first for Texas A&M since Big 12 play began in 1996, and the only Texas school to have both teams in the NCAA tournaments. The men's team reached the second round of the tournament with a win over Syracuse but lost to eventual Final Four team LSU Tigers. The women's team was defeated by TCU in the first round.

[edit] Titles

Texas A&M University has earned 92 Southwest Conference regular-season and tournament titles, 21 Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles, and five national championships. For a complete listing of both conference and national titles won by Texas A&M athletic programs, see Texas Aggie Athletics.

[edit] Athletic Venues

• Football: Kyle Field
  • Home to Texas Aggies since 1927, Kyle Field was recently ranked as the fourth best college football stadium by The Sporting News.^[32]
• Basketball: Reed Arena
• Baseball: Olsen Field
• Volleyball: G. Rollie White Coliseum
• Soccer: Aggie Soccer Complex
• Track and Field: Anderson Track and Field Complex
• Tennis: George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
• Softball: Aggie Softball Complex
• Equestrian: Freeman Arena
• Natatorium: Student Rec Center Natatorium
• Golf: Traditions Club Championship Golf Course, University Golf Course
• See also:
  • Texas A&M Athletic Facilities

[edit] Student publications and media

• The Battalion (Online Edition) - The Battalion was ranked as the 17^th best college newspaper in the nation by Princeton Review.^[33]
• KAMU-DT Public High Definition Television Station (PBS)
• KAMU-TV Public Television Station (PBS)
• KAMU-FM Public Radio Station (NPR)
• KANM Student Radio Station
• Aggieland Yearbook (formerly known as "The Olio" and "The Long Horn")
• The Edge (student-run professional business publication)
• Frequency KANM music zine

[edit] Notable people

Main article: List of Texas A&M University people

The university has a base of more than 273,000 living former students, one of the largest and most active alumni groups in the nation. With strong academic and successful athletics programs, the school has seen many of its students earn local and national prominence.^[4]

Seven Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are former students of Texas A&M University. ^[34] Texas A&M University has more honorees than any other institution of higher learning with the exception of West Point and Annapolis. Current Texas Governor Rick Perry is a Texas A&M alumnus.

[edit] External links

• Texas A&M University Website
• The Texas A&M University System Website
• Official Aggie Athletics Website
• Welcome to Aggieland Video
• Texas Aggie Traditions Website
• Texas A&M Historical Images Collection - Cushing Library
• Official Fish Camp Website
• CARPOOL Official CARPOOL Website
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 30.601433° -96.314464°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
• Texas A&M University Map

[edit] References

Colleges of Texas A&M University

Agriculture and Life Sciences | Architecture | Business | Education and Human Development | Engineering Geosciences | Liberal Arts | Science | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences | Government

The Texas A&M University System

Universities: Texas A&M University | A&M–Commerce | A&M–Corpus Christi | A&M–Kingsville Prairie View A&M | Tarleton State | A&M–Texarkana | A&M International | West Texas A&M Branches: TAMU at Galveston | TAMU at Qatar Agencies: TAES | TCE | TEES | TEEX | TFS | TIGM | TTI | TVMDL Health Science Center: HSC | Dentistry | Medicine | Biomedical | IBT | SRPH | HSC Satellites

Association of American Universities v • d • e
Public	Arizona • Buffalo (SUNY) • UC Berkeley • UC Davis • UC Irvine • UC Los Angeles • UC San Diego • UC Santa Barbara • Colorado • Florida • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Iowa State • Kansas • Maryland • Michigan • Michigan State • Minnesota • Missouri • Nebraska • North Carolina • Ohio State • Oregon • Penn State • Pittsburgh • Purdue • Rutgers • SUNY Stony Brook • Texas • Texas A&M • Virginia • Washington • Wisconsin
Private	Brandeis • Brown • Caltech • Carnegie Mellon • Case Western • Chicago • Columbia • Cornell • Duke • Emory • Harvard • Johns Hopkins • MIT • Northwestern • NYU • Penn • Princeton • Rice • Rochester • USC • Stanford • Syracuse • Tulane • Vanderbilt • Wash U • Yale
Canadian	McGill • Toronto

United States Military Academies and Senior Military Colleges

Federal Service Academies United States Air Force Academy • United States Coast Guard Academy • United States Military Academy • United States Merchant Marine Academy • United States Naval Academy Senior Military Colleges The Citadel • North Georgia College and State University • Norwich University • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University • Virginia Military Institute • Texas A&M University

Big 12 Conference
North Division: Colorado Buffaloes • Iowa State Cyclones • Kansas Jayhawks • Kansas State Wildcats • Missouri Tigers • Nebraska Cornhuskers South Division: Baylor Bears • Oklahoma Sooners • Oklahoma State Cowboys • Texas Longhorns • Texas A&M Aggies • Texas Tech Red Raiders