West Texas A&M University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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West Texas A&M University |
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| Motto | Visio Veritas Valor |
| Established | 1910 |
| Type | State university |
| President | Dr. J. Patrick O’Brien |
| Faculty | 350 |
| Undergraduates | 5,657 |
| Postgraduates | 1,616 |
| Location | Canyon, Texas, USA |
| Campus | Suburban, 135 acres (.5 km²) |
| Endowment | N/A |
| Colors | Maroon and white |
| Nickname | Buffalo  |
| Website | www.wtamu.edu |
West Texas A&M University (also known as WTAMU, or WT), part of the Texas A&M University System, is a public university located in Canyon, Texas, a small town south of Amarillo, Texas. West Texas A&M opened on September 20, 1910. West Texas A&M University was originally called West Texas State Normal College and started out as one of the seven state-funded teacher colleges.
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[edit] History
In the first school year, West Texas State Normal College had 152 students and 16 faculty members. Its first president was Robert B. Cousins. A year after the Texas State House of Representatives approved the bill to establish West Texas State Normal College, construction began on the school's Administration Building. It consisted of the school's only classrooms, laboratory, library, and offices. On March 25, 1914, the school burned down; however, classes continued in local churches, courthouses, and vacant buildings. Later, in 1916, a new Administration Building opened.
The first four-year college degrees were granted in 1919. In the following years the college was admitted to: American Association of Teachers Colleges in 1922, Association of Texas Colleges in 1923, and Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1925. The school changed its name to West Texas State Teachers College in 1923. In the early 1930s, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society built its museum on the campus. In 1949, the school again changed its name, this time to West Texas State College.
During the 1960s, the school changed from a regional teacher's college to a state university. In 1963, the Texas Governor John Connally signed a bill to change the school's name to West Texas State University. The newly named school would gain a College of Arts and Sciences, a graduate school, and professional schools of business. Later, the school offered teacher education. Near the end of the 1960s, West Texas State obtained its own board of regents, established a School of Agriculture, a School of Fine Arts, and created a Department of Nursing.
By 1970, the student population neared 8,000; however, the school's enrollment was decreasing. The primary reasons were the changes in the selective service system and increases in tuition. The university's funding was largely enrollment-driven, and this caused serious financial problems for the school.
The college radio station KWTS-FM began broadcasting in 1972. The West Texas State athletics were in the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference, but the school decided to change its status to Division II and the Lone Star Conference in 1984.
The university joined the Texas A&M University System on September 1, 1990, and started to use the name West Texas A&M University in 1993. The school's first president under the new system was Barry B. Thompson. Early in Thompson's tenure, he dropped the school's football program, but it would return a year later without a scholarship basis.
President Thompson left to obtain a higher position in the Texas A&M University System in 1994. Subquently, Russell C. Long became the new president. During Long's tenure, the school renovated buildings, maintained its student enrollment growth, and added its first Ph.D. in agriculture.
In late 2005, Long retired from his position as the school's president, replaced by J. Patrick O’Brien. As of 2006, West Texas A&M University has approximately 7,000 students. The university contains over 60 undergraduate-degree programs, 40 graduate-degree programs, and 1 doctoral program
[edit] Campus
The Administration Building is now called "Old Main." It went through a $5 million renovation beginning in February 1987. The Old Main building consist of four levels, and houses the administrative and enrollment management offices, as well as classrooms and laboratories. The Division of Education, the Department of History and Political Science, and the Division of Nursing are based in this building.
The Classroom Center was built in 1968. The four-story building contains classrooms, computer and writing labs, and faculty offices. The College of Business and the Department of English and Modern Languages are located in the Classroom Center.
Mary Moody Northen Hall accommodates music studios, dance studios, a public art gallery, recital hall, art studios, computer labs, and classrooms.
The Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex, completed in September 2006, is the home of the Department of Music and Dance and Department of Art, Communication and Theatre. The facility houses music studios, music halls, theatre rooms, the school newspaper newsroom, a television studio, broadcast editing suites, and the student-run radio studios.
The Agriculture and Sciences Building was constructed in 1974. The three-story building houses the Division of Agriculture and the Department of Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences. The building contains classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices.
The Texas history museum, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum has been located on the campus of West Texas A&M University since the early 1930s.
[edit] Athletics
West Texas A&M University's sports teams participate in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference. Their athletic teams are nicknamed the Buffaloes or simply called the "Buffs." As of 2005, West Texas A&M University students compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, equestrian, football, golf, soccer, softball, and volleyball. The equestrian, softball, and volleyball teams are comprised of women only.
The football team plays its home games in Kimbrough Memorial Stadium, and they won their first Lone Star Conference championship in 2005 since joining the conference in 1986.
[edit] Notable people and alumni
- Tully Blanchard, professional wrestler
- Ulane Bonnel, naval historian
- Ted DiBiase, professional wrestler
- Candace Camp, author
- Maurice Cheeks, NBA basketball player and coach
- Larry Combest, politician
- Terry Funk, professional wrestler
- Alondra Johnson, CFL Canadian football player
- Steve Kragthorpe, college football head coach
- Reggie McElroy, NFL American football player
- Jerry Logan, NFL American football player
- Mercury Morris, NFL American football player
- Georgia O'Keeffe, artist (faculty member)
- Kareem Larrimore, NFL American football player
- Ryan Leaf, NFL American football player and quarterbacks coach (faculty member)
- Anita Thigpen Perry, First Lady of Texas
- Donald Powell, Former Chairman of the FDIC and Current Federal Coordinator of Gulf Coast Rebuilding
- Dusty Rhodes, professional wrestler
- Bruce Robison, hit country songwriter ("Travelin' Soldier", Angry All The Time, Desperately) and singer
- Bill Sarpalius, politician
- Marsha Sharp, women's basketball coach
- Stan Sigman, Cingular Wireless CEO
- Merced Solis, professional wrestler
- Red Steagall, country singer and Western poet
- Duane Thomas, NFL American football player
- Chaun Thompson, NFL American football player
[edit] References
- West Texas A&M University from the Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed on October 8, 2005.
- West Texas A&M University. University History. Retrieved on February 18, 2006.
- West Texas A&M University. Campus Map. Retrieved on February 18, 2006.
- Texas A&M University System. O’Brien Named Sole Finalist for West Texas A&M Presidency.
[edit] External links
- West Texas A&M University website
- West Texas A&M University athletics website
- The Texas A&M University System
| 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 | A&M–San Antonio Branches: TAMU at Galveston | TAMU at Qatar |
