Texas Woman's University | |
---|---|
Established | 1901 |
Type | Public |
President | Dr. Ann Stuart |
Undergraduates | 8,496 |
Postgraduates | 5,680 |
Location | Denton Dallas Houston, Texas, U.S. |
Campus | Suburban, 270 acres (1.09 km²) |
Colors | Maroon and White |
Mascot | Pioneer |
Website | www.twu.edu |
Texas Woman's University (historically the College of Industrial Arts and Texas State College for Women, commonly known as TWU) is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas. While male students are accepted into all programs, the school is better known as the largest state-supported university for women in the United States. TWU’s nursing doctoral program is the largest in the world.[1]
TWU is one of only four "independent" public universities in Texas (i.e., not affiliated with any of Texas' five public university systems).
Contents |
Texas Woman's University was originally established in 1901 by an act of the Texas Legislature as the Girls Industrial College, opening its doors in 1903 and conferring its first degrees in 1904. The college changed its name in 1905 to the College of Industrial Arts and Sciences (CIA) and offered programs in a variety of liberal arts, fine arts, and science programs. The school underwent another name change in 1934 to the Texas State College for Women (TSCW) to reflect its growing reputation as a premiere institution of higher education for women in the state. In 1950, TSCW became the first nationally accredited nursing program in the state, and in 1956 pioneered the first building dedicated to the instruction of library sciences. In 1957, the school changed its name for the fourth and final time to Texas Woman's University.
During 1972, it began accepting men into its health sciences graduate school. Due to public pressure, in 1994, the school opened all of its programs to qualified men.
Lowry Woods Apartments is the designated family housing unit.[2] The 168 unit facility is, as of 2011, the newest residential facility at TWU. The complex has mainly two and three bedroom apartments. It can house up to 308 people.[3] The complex is within the Denton Independent School District.[4] is zoned to Denton High School.[5] It is zoned to Evers Elementary School,[6] Calhoun Middle School,[7] and Denton High School.[8]
The school is presently divided into five colleges:
The second floor of Blagg-Huey Library houses "The Woman's Collection". Established in 1932 by the Library at the suggestion of then-president L.H. Hubbard to inspire the women students, the collection now has 42,000 books, 3,000 manuscripts, 19,000 photographs, and 2,000 periodicals.
Highlights of the Woman's Collection include the WASP Archival Collection which features one of the largest repositories of women in aviation in the world, housing the history of Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, the Whirly-Girls International Helicopter Pilots, Women Military Aviators, and others. Other major archives include the cookbook collection which showcases culinary arts from around the world and is one of the largest collections in the United States, and the University collection containing history of the university. The Woman's Collection is the official repository for thousands of organizations, agencies, and conferences in Texas and the southwest concerned with women's rights, agency, and status.
The Woman's Collection also contains information on the 1981 exhibit about Texas women's history. Originally produced by the Texas Foundation for Women's Resources, the exhibit is permanently housed at TWU.
Many well known women regularly visit Texas Woman's University. Sarah Weddington has lectured and/or taught courses since the early 1980s. United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and United States Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson have participated in leadership conferences encouraging people to become more aware of women and their leadership issues. Currently, Ret. Major General Mary Saunders, who graduated from TWU in 1970 and became the highest ranking African-American woman in the United States Air Force, serves as director of the university's Leadership Institute. Recent guest speakers to the Denton campus have included Gloria Steinem, Frances "Sissy" Farenthold, and others.
Hubbard Hall, the former central dining facility, now contains the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. This state-established exhibit honors Texas women who make significant public contributions to the state.
Texas Woman's University is unique among Texas higher education institutions. It requires all undergraduates regardless of their proposed/intended degree to take three hours of multicultural women's studies in order to graduate. At the graduate level it offers both a M.A. and PhD in women's studies. The women's studies department makes excellent use of the library and other institutional resources, receiving full faculty encouragement throughout the university. The chair is Claire L. Sahlin.
The University Art Collection supports through annual acquisitions the work of TWU students, alumni, faculty and staff. The result is a rich display of artwork that can be toured online or when visiting the TWU campus.
Built in 1939 and dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods was named one of Texas’ most outstanding architectural achievements. University students designed and created the building’s artwork, including stained glass windows, lighting, woodwork and flooring. The windows depict scenes of women ministering to human needs including nursing, teaching, speech, literature, dance and music. The Chapel has seen many weddings. The TWU original bridal book contains thousand of names of couples who were married between the years 1939 and 1979 in the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods. The Bridal Book is on display at the Blagg-Huey Library.
This exhibit is housed in the Administration Conference Tower. Within the collection there are replicated versions and original dresses worn to the Governor's Inaugural Ball. Each dress has been loaned or donated by various sources to the University. Most dresses come from local Texas chapters of Daughters of the American Revolution or directly from the First Ladies themselves.
TWU has the only public golf course in Denton. The state of the art Fitness and Recreation center is also available to the public. Facilities include indoor and outdoor pools, a rock wall, tennis courts, handball courts, and exercise equipment.
TWU Pioneers have NCAA Division II programs in basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, and gymnastics. The Pioneers compete in the Lone Star Conference, but only in female sports.
The TWU Gymnastics squad has won the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships with a record nine team championships since 1993, with the most recent championship in 2008. The team finished second overall in 2010, in addition to squad members winning four out of the five individual titles.
The Lasso is a student-produced weekly newspaper which was produced by the Mass Communications program and other interested students. Initially a daily, it switched to a weekly format in the 1990s. The Lasso moved from the School of Library and Information Studies to the Department of English, Speech and Foreign Languages in spring 2006. In summer 2011 the student-run newspaper moved to the Office of Student Life.
A yearbook, The Dadaelian, was published by the Mass Communications program until 1979. The declining levels of traditional college students was the factor in the book's discontinuation. Because they were the most likely group to be involved with and purchase the books, it was difficult to justify production. A 1986 attempt to reinstate yearbooks with The Pioneer failed.
In 2009 the university started a campaign towards greater energy efficiency. The university installed utiliVisor to reduce energy spent air conditioning their facilities. Texas Woman's University now monitors and reduces their energy consumption in real time. [10]
|
|
|
|