Austin College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Austin College |
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| Motto | Learning, Leadership, Lasting Values |
| Established | 1849 |
| Type | Private |
| Endowment | $108 million |
| President | Oscar C. Page |
| Staff | 104 |
| Undergraduates | 1,291 |
| Postgraduates | 29 |
| Location | Sherman, Texas, USA |
| Campus | Suburban, 70 acres (City of Sherman, Grayson County, Texas) |
| Religious Affiliation | Presbyterian Church USA |
| Mascot | Kangaroo  |
| Website | www.austincollege.edu |
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA located in Sherman, Texas, an hour north of Dallas.
It is a small yet well respected institution: the undergraduate student body of Austin College (referred to as "AC" by students and faculty, never "Austin") is limited to about 1,250. Most students are required to live on campus for the first three years, creating a close-knit community. Austin College actively promotes various study abroad programs; 70% of students study abroad during their four years at the college. The college's strengths include the close interaction between the students and professors. Most of the professors at Austin college are focused on teaching, as opposed to research. The college maintains a 12:1 student to faculty ratio and the average class size is less than 25 students. The college uses no teaching assistants, so senior faculty teach all levels of coursework.
Chartered in November 1849, it is the oldest college in Texas under original charter and name as recognized by the State Historical Survey Committee.
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[edit] History
The college was founded on October 13, 1849 in Huntsville, Texas by Princeton-educated missionary Daniel Baker. The college moved to Sherman in 1876 and became co-educational in 1918, merging in 1930 with the all female Texas Presbyterian College.
Baker named the school after Texas hero Stephen F. Austin and his sister Emily, who deeded 1,500 acres of land to the college. Another important figure in Texas History, Sam Houston, served on the original board of trustees for the school.
The college was the first in Texas to grant a graduate degree, and is also one of the oldest colleges in the state.
[edit] College Information
[edit] Leadership
The current president of Austin College is Dr. Oscar C. Page, who has held the position since 1994. He is known for often appearing at student events and athletic games to show his support, and visited the service group who traveled to New Orleans over spring break in 2006 to provide relief from Hurricane Katrina, where he helped in the repairs.
[edit] Accomplishments
U.S. News & World Report ranked Austin College among the top 100 colleges in the category of "Best Liberal Arts Colleges" for 2006. Austin College also ranked among the "Best 361 Colleges" in the 2006 Princeton Review, was profiled in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives, and was profiled in the 2005 edition of Kaplan's Unbiased Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges. Austin College is also ninth on the U.S. News' 2006 list for "most students studying abroad." It is a member of the International 50, a group of the top colleges in the nation for international focus.
[edit] Academics
Austin College offers about 35 majors and pre-professional programs for study, and students can also create a specialized major to match their academic interests. The college is known for its nationally recognized five-year Master of Arts in Teaching program, its pre-medical, international studies, and pre-law programs, which draw many students to the campus. The school also has a music program, and is home to the Austin College A Cappella Choir and the Sherman Symphony Orchestra made up of students and local musicians, and assorted smaller musical ensembles. It also sponsors the Posey Center of Excellence in Leadership, the Center for Environmental Studies[1], and the Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies [2] -- three specialized programs that give students numerous research and internship opporunities. The school also has active programs in over 40 academic disciplines. The school's student newspaper, the Austin College Observer, is a bi-monthly publication.
[edit] Communication/Inquiry
The Communication/Inquiry class is one of a number of classes and program that the school believes sets it apart from other private universities. Communication/Inquiry, or "C/I" as it is abbreviated, is a seminar course taken by freshmen during the fall of their entry year. The professor becomes a mentor for the students in the class over the next four years. Students choose the topic of their C/I soon after matriculating. It serves as the initial course in the undergraduate core curriculum. Each section of C/I is meant to emphasize the enhancement of many core academic skills, among them general writing, oral communication, computer technology, and library usage, as well as intellectual inquiry and critical thinking. As with most Austin College classes, the classes are never more than 25 people, and usually less. Freshmen are encouraged to use the class as an opportunity to make friends. On the opening weekend, students participate in activities and games with their C/I group. Course topics, which are generally aligned with specialty of the instructors, have in the past included an analysis of children's literature, a studio art class where the participants create sculptures on campus, and a study of how food and culture have intertwined throughout history. C/I professors and topics rotate every year.[3]
[edit] Heritage of Western Culture
Heritage of Western Culture, known on campus as "Heritage" or "HWC", is a staple of the Austin College curriculum. The purpose of the Heritage classes is to tie together various liberal arts disciplines into an overview of the development of western culture.
All students are required to take three Heritage classes during their time at AC:
- 101, "The Early Western World," usually taken as a freshman or sophomore, is a study of selected aspects of early western culture (antiquity to the Enlightenment) with particular attention to critical issues in the study of cultural heritage before the modern era and the legacy of the early west.
- 201, "Integrated Science," usually taken during sophomore or junior year, is a study of notable scientific achievements to develop an understanding of the nature of science, the structure of scientific thought, and the influence of some of the achievements of science on western ideas from the 17th through the 21st centuries.
- 301, "Individual and Society in the Modern World," usually taken during junior or senior year, is a study of the evolution of western culture and civilization from the Enlightenment until the present. Special attention is given to those ideas and events that shape the contemporary world, and may include aspects of non-western culture.[4]
Each class focuses on a particular topic or subject and traces it through time in order to ascertain its effect on contemporary western culture. The topics are taught on a rotating basis (the same topic will generally be taught for four years consecutively, then the topic is changed), as the professors that teach them rotate as well. The majority of the classes are taught jointly, with 2-5 professors sharing the class and taking turns giving lectures, in order to provide a cross-section of disciplines and professors who specialize in various aspects of the class. The average class size is considerably larger, around 100 students, as opposed to the usual 25. For many AC students, the class is their only exposure to a lecture-hall type of class commonly found at larger universities. To supplement the lectures, each professor will usually have what is termed a "small group" of about 25 students that meets several times throughout the semester in addition to the "large group" meetings that take place regularly.
Opinions differ on the value of Heritage, as many current students view it as worthless (though some alumni remember the courses as some of the most valuable they took). This attitude led to increasing numbers of students taking the course on a pass/fail basis (and devoting minimal effort), leading Austin College to disallow such a grading system for the course. Currently, the class cannot be taken at a pass/fail for those under the program graduating in 2008 and beyond. Many professors agree with the negative student assessment of Heritage, although the program does have its supporters among the faculty too.
During the fall semester of 2006, the decades-old program has been made the subject of a full scale re-evaluation by the faculty. A committee of faculty members who teach in the course have been meeting to determine the future of the course sequence. That committee has made its report and the faculty will vote on the future of Heritage in the coming near future. There is strong sentiment to do away with the courses completely in some quarters, while others argue that Heritage (or something like it) should be retained. It may be that given the nature of this debate, the structure and context of the Heritage courses in the future -- should they survive -- will be very different from the present configuration.
In early March, 2007, the Austin College faculty voted to end the HWC program, and after the spring semester of 2007 HWC courses will no longer be offered.
[edit] January Term
January Term is Austin College's mini-semester, a three-week course taught every January. Students are required to take three Jan-terms during their time at AC, and many use the semester to either take a class in a different area than their regular studies, intensify their study in their designated field, or travel abroad on one of the many travel Jan-terms. Off-campus Jan-terms are an opportunity for those who cannot study abroad during the normal school year to do so. Destinations rotate from year to year, and past and current locations include Scotland, England, France, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, West Africa, Hawaii, and New Zealand. There are also a number of domestic travel locations, such as Ghost Ranch in New Mexico (where students can take landscape photography, creative writing and silversmithing), Washington D.C., and New York City.
Courses are taught on-campus as well. A longstanding policy requires freshmen to spend their first Jan-term on-campus, although some instructors allow exceptions. Many students can only afford only one off-campus Jan-term over the course of their Austin College career, and take the rest on campus. Topics have included bird-watching, a writing class on utopian literature, an analysis of contemporary comic books, the philosophy of mythological archetypes, as well as wine making and beer brewing, instructed by chemistry faculty.
Some Jan-terms serve as Heritage classes (generally 201 and 301), which are usually accompanied by a pre-departure class in the fall semester. Tests are taken throughout the students' travel in foreign countries and a passing grade fulfills the Heritage requirement of the degree plan.
[edit] Jordan Family Language House
Completed in 1998, the Jordan Family Language House is both a residence hall and a place of study for German, Spanish, French, and Japanese language and culture. The hall is divided into four sections, one for each language. Each section functions independently, with the number of students varying from Spanish (the largest) to Japanese (the smallest, with a capacity for eight). Students are encouraged to speak in their language of study when in the house.
A native speaker, always coming from abroad, resides in each section to assist students in their study of the language. The native speaker also holds intermediate and advanced conversation classes for the students. The Jordan House contains a multimedia language laboratory.
Students who live in the house are enrolled in a half-credit course, in addition to another course in the language or literature. Course requirements include meeting several times a week for language table, weekly house meetings with skits, games, and other presentations in the target language, and a variety of other culturally appropriate activities. [5]
[edit] Model United Nations
Austin College has participated in Model United Nations around the country since 1983. Model UN conferences simulate the workings of the United Nations, with delegates assuming the current positions of the countries they represent.
The purpose of the program is to gain skills in leadership, verbal and written communication, teamwork, decision-making, and research. At the National Model U.N. Conference in New York City, the AC program has earned more than 20 top rankings for Outstanding Delegation. AC has also attended conferences in Chicago, Washington, DC, Hawaii and Russia.[6]
[edit] Posey Leadership Institute
The Austin College Posey Leadership Institute is intended to instruct student leaders in leadership and service. Each fall, 15 entering freshmen and up to five sophomores are selected to participate, based on demonstrated leadership ability and potential. Participants receive a scholarship of around $11,000 a year.
Participating students complete special courses beyond their normal academic workload. These include a freshman introductory leadership course, an internship on leadership in action, a Jan-term course, a second-year course on national and international leadership, and a senior conference on advanced leadership studies.[7]
[edit] Study Abroad
[edit] Student Life
Austin College currently has five residence halls on campus, as well as additional housing for upperclassmen. School-owned residences contain kitchens, lounges, laundry facilities, and computer labs with printers. Halls remain locked at all times, requiring an electronic card (a student ID) to enter.
AC's traditional dormitory rooms have movable furnishings including detachable bunk beds (which are extra-long twin size), dressers, study chairs and built-in desks.
- Baker Hall is a men's hall named after Rev. Daniel Baker, the founder of Austin College. Constructed in 1958 and renovated in 1996, Baker contains 71 double-occupancy rooms and four single-occupancy rooms. It is known for its "Baker Bun Run," where volunteers run to each of the all-girl dormitories to serenade the girls on the night before finals start.
- Caruth Hall, the largest women's residence hall, holds 77 double rooms and three single-occupancy rooms. Caruth was constructed in 1963 and renovated in 1997. A large basement area is used for meetings, exercise and recreation. Caruth is the only residence hall with normally sized twin beds.
- Clyce Hall, also a women's residence hall, contains 64 double rooms and two single-occupancy rooms. Clyce was constructed in 1957 and renovated in 1991. Clyce rooms have a nightstand.
- Dean Hall, the largest residence hall on campus, has 116 double-occupancy rooms and seven single-occupancy rooms. The only co-educational dorm, floors are divided with freshmen men in one wing and freshmen women in the other. Upper-class men and women reside in centrally-located rooms between the wings in an area known as "the T."
- Bryan Apartments are college-owned apartments on campus. The 16 two-bedroom apartments are occupied by up to four people. Apartments are furnished with standard bunk beds, dressers, desks and chairs per bedroom, a movable sofa and chair in the living room, and a movable dining table with four chairs. All apartments contain kitchens with a full-size refrigerator, garbage disposal, microwave and electric stove.
- Johnson 'Roo Suites are the newest college-owned apartments, completed in the fall of 2003. Adjacent to Bryan Apartments, they house 152 students in four separate structures. The residence is available to juniors and seniors, with priority given to juniors. Each 1,200-square-foot suite has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as a common living area and a kitchenette.
- The Jordan Family Language House is a residence for 48 men and women students of German, Spanish, French, and Japanese. The house is divided into four areas, one for each language. Each section has bedrooms and a common living area surrounding an interior courtyard.
Other major buildings on campus are the Wright Campus Center (student union), Caruth Administration Building, Wynne Chapel, Dickey Fitness Pavilion, Abell Library, Adams Center (health and career services) and others. Classes are taught in Sherman Hall (humanities), Hopkins Center (social sciences), Moody Science Building and Thompson Hall (science and mathematics), Ida Green Communication Center (performing arts) and Craig Hall (art and music). [8] The newest building project on campus is the new studio art complex, due to be completed in fall 2007.
Luckett Hall used to serve as an all-male dormitory on the northeast side of campus. Luckett Hall was one of the oldest buildings on campus, built in 1907. It was 3 stories tall with the first story partially below ground. It was demolished in 03-04 after mold was found. The location of the building is now being used as the Founders Plaza which is going to be an outdoor area created for providing an attractive approach to the campus from the north.
Campus organizations include the Student Assembly (SA), Indian Cultural Association, the Austin College ACtivators (a traveling Presbyterian youth ministry program), Campus Activities Board, Student Development Board, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, Pre-Med Society, and Alpha Phi Omega (a national service co-ed fraternity).
[edit] Greek Life
Austin College does not participate in national fraternities and sororities, but organizes a system of local Greek organizations exclusive to the school. Austin College students in good standing who have completed at least one semester and meet the RUSH guidelines may participate in RUSH. Formal RUSH takes place every year in February. Unlike other schools where pledgeship lasts a week, Austin College's pledgeship season is from mid-February until the beginning of spring break, usually about one month. There are currently seven sororities and eight fraternities active: [9]
Sororities
- Kappa Gamma Chi (ΚΓΧ) was founded in 1913 as a literary society and the first women’s organization on campus. In 1940 it became a social sorority. The Kappas annually sponsor Kappa Kapers and the Kappa Cake Walk.
- Alpha Delta Chi (ΑΔΧ) was founded in 1933 as the first social sorority on the Austin College campus. While fostering tradition, the individual members of the group vary in goals and interests while maintaining a common bond in sisterhood through friendship, fellowship, and service.
- Delta Phi Nu (ΔΦΝ) was founded in 1957 with the motto “to serve, to love, to understand.” This diverse group of women serves AC and the community with a variety of service projects.
- Theta Sigma Chi (ΘΣΧ) was founded in 1985 and encourages the development self-expression, sincerity, and positive self-esteem. Their symbol, the star, represents the ability to come together as a group while still remaining individuals.
- Xi Epsilon (ΞΕ) was chartered in 1985 as a united group that would also maintain the growth of the individual.
- Omega Zeta (ΩΖ) was founded in 2000 and promotes and encourages service, sisterhood, academics, identity, and leadership.
- Sigma Phi Chi (ΣΦΧ) was founded in 2001 to form an ecumenical sisterhood of women who glorify Jesus Christ with their lives and who strive to follow His perfect example by promoting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Fraternities
- Phi Sigma Alpha (ΦΣΑ) was founded in 1932 and is the oldest fraternity on campus. Phi Sigma Alpha strives to promote brotherhood, scholarship, and the pursuit of excellence in all endeavors.
- Drakes have banded together as a group for the purpose of furthering social brotherhood since 1946. The Drakes were disbanded in the spring of 2007.
- Chi delta eta (ΧΔΗ) was founded in 1957 to achieve and uphold their motto “Character through Brotherhood.”
- Gamma Gamma Gamma (ΓΓΓ) has promoted perseverance, scholarship, unity, and brotherhood between members, since its founding in 1963.
- Lambda Chi (ΛΧ) was founded in 1982. Its fundamental theme is well expressed by its motto “Unity without Uniformity.”
- Phi Kappa Omega (ΦΚΩ) was founded in 1989 and believes in offering an unrestricted environment where one need not change to be accepted. Their motto is “What You See is What You Get.”
- Chi Tau Chi (ΧΤΧ) was chartered in 1998 and formed to enable an ecumenical brotherhood of Christian men to love, serve, and bear one another's burdens in spiritual and social fellowship.
[edit] Athletics
Austin College participates in NCAA Division III athletics. Kangaroo varsity teams include football, men and women's soccer, volleyball, men and women's basketball, swimming and diving, tennis, baseball and softball, which was added for the 2006-2007 season. More than 225 student-athletics participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics each year. In 2004-2005, 28 students were recognized with all-conference athletic honors and 61 students received all-conference academic honors.
Austin College joined the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference on July 1, 2006, replacing Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Austin College was previously a member of the American Southwest Conference.
[edit] Traditions
[edit] Homecoming
Homecoming is the biggest event of the year, drawing large numbers of alumni to campus.
[edit] Mascot
The Austin College mascot is the kangaroo. The unusual mascot name traces its roots to the 1850s, when Austin College upperclassmen held mock trials — called Kangaroo Kourt — in which freshmen were "tried" by upperclassmen. The practice was abolished in 1915, but some students had, through the tradition, grown fond of the kangaroo. Accordingly, the class of 1923 bought a live kangaroo from a zoo in California. Named after trustee Pat E. Hooks, "Pat" the three-year-old kangaroo, who stood five feet tall, came to campus in 1922 and lived under the steps of long-time dormitory Luckett Hall.
Pat was a rallying point for student morale, taken on a leash to home football games, pre-game bonfires, biennial games with archrival Trinity in San Antonio, and to games with SMU in Dallas. Pat and the 12-piece band gave Austin College students "the conviction that the Kangaroos could compete athletically with any school in the Southwest."
However, Pat died accompanying the team to training camp at Woodlake. He was buried just north of the current Baker Hall at a funeral service held by students after chapel. A second kangaroo was purchased from a circus in 1924, but after "Pat II" met a similar fate, the student body decided a kangaroo was too delicate a creature to survive in Texas. Pat II was not replaced until the fall of 1950, when Austin College students bought a six-month-old female Australian wallaby named Katy.
Katy was smaller than Pat, standing three feet tall and weighing 75 pounds, and lived next to the gymnasium in a pen. Students fitted Katy with a harness, who entertained the crowd at during halftime at football games by running up and down the sidelines. She appeared at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during a Austin College-Mexico City University game. Katy died in the summer of 1960, the last live mascot. A student now plays the kangaroo in a costume.[10]
[edit] Colors
The Austin College colors are crimson and gold.
[edit] Birthdays
On students' birthdays, AC tradition is for the student's friends to throw him or her into a fountain on campus, usually the fountain outside the Dickey Fitness Pavilion because it is large, shallow and easily accessed.
[edit] Notable faculty
- Light Townsend Cummins (Historian, Texas history author)
- George Diggs (biologist, Texas flora)
- Patrick Duffey (Spanish, impact of film on Latin American literature)
- Jerry B. Lincecum (English, Texas folklore author)
- Shelton Williams (International Relations, government consultant)
- Roger Platizky (English, Victorian prose and poetry, Queer Theory, Plague Literature)
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] In entertainment
- Candace Kita
- Julie Johnson (Voice of Baby Bop)
- Aldo Billingslea
- Kim Powers Writer for Good Morning America', ABC's Prime Time Live, Finding North
- Sally Maslansky (Development/executive producer for such movies as The Russia House, Police Academy)
- Bill Wilson (Producer The Santa Clause)
- Robert Johnson (Producer of the award-winning documentary Paper Clips)
[edit] In religion
- Marshall Applewhite (Leader of the Heaven's Gate religious cult)
- Bob Lively
[edit] In politics
- Ron Kirk (Former Mayor of Dallas)
- Bill Magers (Mayor of Sherman)
[edit] In the arts
- Alyssa Banta
- Carmen Tafolla
[edit] Other areas
- Kevin Craig
[edit] Recent developments
In the fall of 2005, Austin College began implementing the initial phase of its multi-year, approximately $1 million campus landscape master plan. The landscape project will ultimately add an entry esplanade, pedestrian mall, and other landscape enhancements. The school upgraded the baseball field in the summer of 2006. Groundbreaking on a new studio art building is slated for the fall of 2006, with the complex scheduled to be complete by next fall.
[edit] External links
| Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference |
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| Austin • Birmingham-Southern (2007) • Centre • Colorado College • DePauw • Hendrix • Millsaps • Oglethorpe • Rhodes • Sewanee • Southwestern • Trinity (Texas) |
| Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities |
|---|
| Agnes Scott Albertson • Alma • Arcadia • Austin • Barber-Scotia • Belhaven • Blackburn • Bloomfield • Buena Vista • Carroll • Centre • Coe College • College of the Ozarks • College of Wooster • Cook College and Theological School • Davidson • Davis and Elkins • ClaflinEckerd • Grove City • Hampden-Sydney • Hanover • Hastings • Illinois • Jamestown • Johnson C. Smith • King • Knoxville • Lake Forest • Lees-McRae • Lyon • Macalester • Mary Baldwin • Maryville • Millikin • Missouri Valley • Monmouth • Montreat • Muskingum • Peace College • Queens University of Charlotte • Rhodes • Rocky Mountain • Schreiner • Sheldon Jackson • St. Andrews Presbyterian • Sterling • Stillman • Trinity • Tusculum • Dubuque • The Ozarks • Tulsa • Warren Wilson • Waynesburg • Westminster (Missouri) • Westminster (Pennsylvania) • Westminster (Utah) • Whitworth • Wilson |
