 Texas Tech University
Archives
Below are historical tidbits on the establishment and growth of Texas Tech
University.
I.
Establishment, II.
Campus Maps, Buildings and Structures,
III. Techsan Articles
& La Ventana, IV. Who's Who, V. Horn Professors,
VI.
Board of Regents, VII.
Texas Tech Songs and Traditions,
VIII.
Enrollment and Graduation Information,
IX. Texas Tech Firsts, and
X. Chronology of TTU Departments and
Degrees
I.
Establishment of TTU
Texas Senate
Bill [often referred to as the "School Charter"]
Senate Bill No. 103 provided for the establishment of a “State college west
of the 98th meridian and north of the 29th parallel,” thereby setting the
ground work for the creation of Texas Technological College. Among the
purposes of the college was to provide a “co-educational college giving
thorough instruction in technology and textile engineering from which a
student may reach the highest degree of education.”
-
U
113.1 Locating Board Records, 1923 and 1938: This 7
box collection contains the applications, proposal and supplemental
information submitted by 36 applicants for the location of the Texas
Technological School. Several include black and white photographs, maps
and blueprints. A few also have leather covers. *Update: the
proposal books and accompanying information are now being digitized and
are available online
here.
-
Senate Bill No. 103: To Establish The Texas Technological College
[6.0 MB]
-
Minutes of the First Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Texas
Technological College, held at Sweetwater, Texas, on March 2, 1923
[15.7 MB]
-
Proposal to the Locating Board for the placement of Texas Technological
College at Lubbock, Texas, 1923
[14.4 MB]
-
Margaret V.
Dupree oral history interview (1981) - talks about Lubbock
celebration getting Texas Tech and father's involvement with selecting
Lubbock
-
William Curry
Holden oral history interview- faculty (tape
1, 10/4/76) - talks
about
establishment of Texas Tech
-
Harve Kendrick
oral history interview (1975) - Selection of Lubbock and
establishment of Texas Tech
See also
Alumni, Former Staff and Faculty Interviews
for more on Texas Tech history
denotes these are digital files
which require Abode Acrobat Reader 3.0 or later to view. Follow the links
below to download Acrobat Reader software- Windows OS's:
Adobe Acrobat Reader or Unix/Linux OS's:
XPDF -- Open source PDF
reader [Free]
A timeline for the early history of Texas Tech:
- November 11, 1925 - the laying of the cornerstone of
the Administration Building
- September 22, 1925 - President Paul Whitfield Horn
and his wife held a reception for faculty at their residence
- September 28-29, 1925 - entrance exams were held
- September 29-30, 1925 - Registration for classes
- September 30, 1925 - Formal opening exercises were
held in front of the Administration Building at 4 p.m.
- October 1, 1925 - First convocation held at 10 a.m.
The college hymn, "O College Mother, Beautiful," was first sung.
Classes began starting at 8 am.
- October 3, 1925 - the first football game, Texas Tech
vs McMurray, was held at 4 p.m. The final score was Tech 0, McMurray
College 0.
- October 3, 1925 - President Paul Whitfield Horn and
his wife held a reception for students and faculty to meet one another.
- October 3, 1925 - the first issue of The Toreador,
the college's newspaper, was published.
This issue,
along with others, is now available for viewing online.
- October 4, 1925 - Rev. R. Thomsen gave the opening
sermon to the students and a union from all the Lubbock churches in the
Livestock Judging Pavilion.
- October 9, 1925 - Tech played its second football
game, this time against Austin College. Final score Tech 3, Austin
College 3.
- October 13, 1925 - Lubbock churches held receptions
for students of their respective denominations.
- By the time of publication of the October 1925
Bulletin, 914 students were enrolled.
- November 25, 1925 - First bonfire at a "pep meeting"
- 1926 - Tech received accreditation by
the Association of Texas Colleges and the Texas Education Agency
(formerly State Department of Educations)
- April 17, 1926 - the first All-College Dance was held
on the rooftop garden of Cheri Casa Home for Boys. Programs of some of
the Cheri Casa events can be viewed
here.
- May 30, 1927 - Mary Dale Buckner became Texas Tech
graduate at the college's first commencement ceremony in the college
gymnasium.
- 1928 - Tech received accreditation by
the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
- June 1929 - the first class graduated
who had completed all four years of coursework at Texas Tech
- 1934 - the first men's dormitory No. 1 (West Hall)
and the first women's dormitory (Doak Hall) opened.
- May 8, 1940 - The first annual "Texas Tech
Day" was observed by chapters of the Ex-Students Association
- October 18, 1940 - Tech celebrated its
first official Western Day.
- 1945 - Tech received accreditation by the American
Association of University Women
- 1947 - Tech received accreditation by the American
Association of Universities
- 1960 - Tech received accreditation by the American
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
- 1960 - the Atchiston, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
donated a locomotive bell to the Saddle Tramps which was to be
known as Saddle Tramp Spirit Bell No. 1 which would be used primarily at
football games. (Tex Talks, May, 1960)
- 1962 - the traditional green color of the freshmen
beanie with red lettering, often referred to as the "Slime Cap" or "Fish
Cap," is changed to alternating red and black with a black bill. (Tex
Talks, October, 1962)
- 1972 - The Board of Regents supported an
administrative ruling prohibiting the use of Memorial Circle and
adjoining quadrangles for the Carol of Lights program. This was in
response to a series of US Federal Appellate Court decisions on
the use of designated areas for specific uses (For Your Information
newsletter, vol.
3 no. 11 and 12, Dec. 6, 1972).
Historical
Publications on Texas Tech now digitized:
- The Opening of a New Institution focuses on
the new college's history, its opening, and statistics such as the
number of students enrolled. Of particular interest is page 23 which
addresses the attendance of women at the college.
- The
Directory of Texas Technological College, 1925-1926 lists the names
and addresses of the first faculty, staff and students at the newly
established college.
- The Appeal
of Texas Technological College, 1928 gives an overview of the
significant facts concerning the newly established college
- Early images and information on Texas Tech are
available in the 1931 publication
Pictorial and Information
Bulletin
- The 1934 publication,
Live in the New Dormitories
at Texas Technological College, gives an overview of the student
housing options
- The First
Ten Years of Texas Technological College presents facts for the
college's tenth anniversary in 1935
- The
Women's Hall Handbook, 1935-1936 and the
Women's Hall Handbook,
1936-1937 outline the rules and etiquettes pertaining to a young
female student attending Texas Technological College.
- The Texas Tech
Students' Handbook 1936-1937
gives a good overview of the things a new student needed to know when
attending the college.
-
Texas Technological College: Its Growth and Its
Needs, published in 1937, presented a strong
overview of the needs concerning issues dealing with the young college's
infrastructure, faculty, student to faculty ration, degrees programs,
and accreditation.
- Texas
Technological College Bulletin is a mostly pictorial bulletin dated
1938
- The Annual
Open House program covers the 8th annual open
house of the Division of Home Economics for 1940
- Texas
Technological College - Where? Why? What? Who? The Future? was
published in 1943
- Student
Life at Texas Tech gives a glimpse of the
social and academic life of a 1950's Tech student.
- Texas
Technological Campus Tour Guide, published by the Texas Tech
Bookstore, dates before 1969 and includes brief descriptions of various
buildings as well as a nice campus map.
Several departmental biographies and historical
overviews have been written, including:
Early TTU Footage
Tech promo film
narrated by Tech graduate Clint Formby, 1947 (links to YouTube; 5:08
minutes long). The December 4, 1948 issue of The Toreador has
an article on the front page about a Tech movie called "Futures
Unlimited" in which Clint Formby serves as a narrator. This film on
YouTube must be the same one as the $5000 one described in the Toreador
article, which was financed by the Tech Chamber of Commerce and the
Student Council. At the 0:54 mark Formby states "born only in 1925, Tech
has already left its babyhood and is in its years of adolescence. Before
it are growth and progress, and before it lies its maturity... it's
unlimited future."
II. Campus Maps, Buildings and Structures
From it's original construction in 1924 until the present, Texas Tech
University has gone through several construction booms. The original site consisted of 2,000 acres. Today, Texas Tech has one of the
largest campuses in the United States, with several satellite campuses
located throughout the State of Texas.
Campus Maps
Several Texas Tech campus maps have been digitized
to show the progression and expansion of the university and are accessible
here.
Campus Buildings and Structures
There are two ways to learn more
about TTU buildings and structures- look over an index of
Board of Regents Minutes citations or
read related trivia. Also, there is information
on the TTU Public Art Collection pieces and artists available
here [Texas Tech
Today online articles].
In 1925, the only buildings available at the opening of the college
were the following structures: the first unit of the Administration
Building, the first unit of the Home Economics Building, the Textile
Engineering Building, the Cafeteria, the President's Residence, the
Stock Judging Pavilion, the Poultry Plant, and the Dairy Barn/Farm.
As no dormitories were yet available on campus in 1925,
supervised boarding houses were made available along Broadway. Those
north of Broadway were designated for men and those south of Broadway for
women. Costs
ranged between $30-40 per month and the women's housing fell under the
jurisdiction of the Dean of Women. The men's housing fell under the
authority of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
The 1925-1926 programs and invitations for events at
the Cheri Casa Home for Boys, located at 2406-2408 Main Street, and the
Quick Dormitory Home for Boys, located at 9th Street and Avenue X, have been
digitized from the Cole Scrapbook and can be viewed
here.
Another interesting fact about Texas Tech was the Acre Project,
established when the college first opened in 1925. "Each student attending
the Texas Technological College during the year 1925-1926, who so desires,
will have one acre of ground set apart for his cultivation during the year.
No charge will be made for rental, nor for whatever water may be needed for
irrigation purposes. He will have free the expert advice of members of the
agricultural faculty. These acres may be planted in onions, cantaloupes,
watermelons, or other crops, requiring a high degree of intensive
cultivation. In many instances as much as one thousand dollars has been
cleared from one such acre, under similar conditions." [excerpt from a TTU
bulletin entitled, "Preliminary Announcement of Course of Study 1925-1926."] Details on the project can be found on pages 40-41
of the publication, The Opening of a New Institution.
In regards to the architecture of Texas Tech, a Spanish Renaissance
style is used to unify the campus appearance. In the 10/15/49 Board of
Directors' meeting minutes, the Board, after approving the recommendations
of the Building Committee, directed the Committee to inform builders "that
plans for new construction to be prepared by them shall conform in every
respect to the type of architecture of the present buildings on the campus."
III. Texas
Techsan Retrospective Articles and La Ventana
For over 25 years, staff members of the Southwest Collection have
written articles on Texas Tech historical subjects and themes for the
university's alumni magazine, The Texas Techsan. These articles
appeared under the title of Texas Tech Retrospective Articles. As
these articles cover many of the important subjects and tradition of the
university, they have been digitized and placed online.
Click here to
view the articles. An index of the Texas Techsan for 1950-1951 is
available here.The La Ventana, Texas Tech's yearbook, has been
digitized and is now available online. Click
here
to view.
IV. Who's
Who in Administration A common patron question is in regards to who are administrative Heads of
Texas Tech University departments and colleges, as well as who are members
of the Board of Regents. Here's a link to see a list of these
important TTU Who's Who.
V. Horn Professors
To be
designated a Horn Professor is the highest honor received by a Texas Tech
faculty member. Here's a link to the listing of Texas Tech University
Horn Professors.
Photographs of various Texas Tech faculty, administrators,
Board of Regent members, and coaches have been digitized and are available
for online viewing
here.
VI. Board of Regents
The TTU Board of Regents, formerly known as the Board of Directors, oversees
the university's growth, governance and maintenance. It is composed of
nine members chosen by the governor.The Board of Directors/Board of
Regents Meeting Minutes and Indexes to the Minutes are currently being digitized
and are available
here.
The meeting minutes from 1999-2010 are available on the
TTU Reports website.
Although the meeting minutes for years previous to 1999 are currently not
online, an index of attachments to these
meetings is available. It is arranged chronologically.
VII. Texas Tech Songs
and Traditions Below is a list of songs associated with Texas Tech
- 1925 - "O, College Mother, Beautiful" (College Hymn)
by Dr. Paul Whitfield Horn, 1st President of Texas Tech
- 1926 - "Tech Spirit Songs"
- 1927 - "Texas Tech" by W. R. Waghorne
- 1930 - "The Matador Song" by R. C. Marshall, music by
Harry Lemaire
- 1937 - "Fight Raiders Fight" by Carroll McMath, music
from Three Days Fantasia-Overture by Adolph Lotter
- 1944 - "Fight on for Texas Tech" and "Texas Tech Has
Got to Win" by Thornton Allen
- 1942 - "Red Raiders" by Fred Waring; the song was
recorded by the Tech Band and chorus in 1950
The 1926 Texas
Technological College Song Book included the songs below:
- "O, College Mother, Beautiful" (College Hymn)
- "Glory to Alma Mater"
- "The Tech of Texas State"
- "Anvil Chorus"
- "The Soldier's Chorus"
- "Hail! Hail! The Tech's All Here!"
- "Matador Song"
- "Good Morning"
- "Our Girls"
- "My Bonnie"
- "Good Night"
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- "Farmer Leidigh Had a Farm"
- "Spanish Cavalier"
- "Funicule, Funicula"
- "Bingo"
- "Jingle Bells"
- "Texas!" by W. R. Waghorne, 1924
- "Star Spangled Banner"
- "Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean"
- "America"
- "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
- "Onward, Christian Soldiers"
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Texas Tech Traditions:
History of the "Guns Up" Tradition at Texas Tech
was written
by L. Glenn Dippel in 1998 -- see U 23.6 Sports Information collection.
Dippel is credited with coming up with the hand sign.
The first Monday in May of each year is officially "Texas
Tech Day" [Board of Directors' Policy Statements, August 22, 1964]
Other Texas Tech traditions can be found
here on TTU's main website.
Another tradition at Tech is class gifts by the graduating senior class.
Here are some of these gifts:
- 1943 - funds were later used to help purchase a
scoreboard for the athletic field (BOR 8/14/48)
- 1948 - bronze name plates for campus buildings
(BOD 7/7/48)
VIII.
Enrollment and Graduation Information
Institutional Research and Information Management collections and compiles
statistical information on the university, including enrollment, graduation
rates and degrees given. The reports are now available online and go
back to the beginning of the university. Click
here for to view
these stats.
The
Fact Books
are a compilation of statistics on TTU's student profile and include
information on student enrollment, degrees, credit hours, test scores,
location distribution, majors, ethnicity, gender and age.
The first student to register for classes in 1925 was
Irwin Coleman.
IX. Texas Tech
Firsts [University Highlights] Below are some miscellaneous facts about milestones "firsts" at Texas Tech.
Whenever possible, sources have been cited.Educational Milestones:
Ph.D.'s were first offered beginning in the 1950-1951 academic year, with
the Chemistry, English and History departments the first to do so. Later,
Psychology and Education began offering Ph.D. degrees. (Memorandum from
Office of the Academic Vice President, 12-21-60)
Mrs. Lucille Sugar Graves is noted in her
oral history interview
(1974) as being the first African American student at Texas Tech. She came to Tech with
a bachelor's degree and was working on her master's degree in the summer of 1961.
It was Mrs. Graves's persistent petitioning for entrance into the college
that paved the way for other African Americans to attend Texas Tech.
Canon Clements was the first Texas Tech student to receive a Rhodes Scholarship
in 1935. Graduation Milestones:
- Mary Dale Buckner won the drawing to become the first
graduate from Texas Technological College. Buckner graduated with a
bachelor's degree in English on May 30, 1927.
- The first master's degrees were awarded in 1928 to Horace
Bailey Carroll in history, R. W. Matthews in education and Walter Irwin
Wilkins in sociology.
- Laura Song, a native from Korea, was the first oriental
student to graduate from Texas Tech on June 5, 1933. She received a
Bachelor's of Science degree in Home Economics. (June
15, 1933 issue of the Toreador)
- Carl Bechtold was the first
industrial engineering graduate in 1938. (Toreador, February
17, 1940)
- Estus C. Polk, who majored in English, earned the first Ph.D. at Texas Tech
in 1952. (Texas Techsan article, September 1952)
- Ophelia Powell-Malone was the first African-American to
receive a B.A. degree from Texas Tech in 1964. A short
bio on her
can be found on the MentorTech page.
- James Clark Huff became the first Tech
graduate to complete his entire degree requirements in the
School of Arts and Sciences with a perfect 4.0 grade point
average. (Tex Talks, August, 1965)
- Reagan
Harrison Beene Jr. and Eldred Donald Merkl were the first
graduates of a Ph.D. program in engineering in 1965. (Tex Talks, August, 1965)
-
Stella
Crockett Courtney oral history interview(2010) - first non-transfer
African American student to graduate from Texas Tech University.
- Rosemary Pledger received the first Ph.D.
degree of Business Administration in Business Education from
Texas Tech on June 1, 1968.
- Dr. Hortense W. Dixon, who majored in Higher Education and minored in Home
Economics, was the first African-American to graduate with a doctorate from
Texas Tech University. She graduated in August, 1970, and then went on to
become an associate professor of Home Economics at Texas Southern
University. (TTU Press Release 5-9-15-70)
Other University Milestones:
- Greek-letter fraternity and sororities were allowed at Texas
Tech beginning on June 21, 1952.
- The all-male era of the Texas Technological band ended in the fall of 1941
when a few females wanted to be majorettes. However, a campus rule was
invoked against girls participating as majorettes until after World War II. (TTU
Press Release 6-6-23-69)
- Maria Alejandrina Hevia was an
international student from Brazil who attended Texas Tech in
1935. She may be the earliest cited Hispanic student to
attend the university. She only attended one year and did
not graduate from Texas Tech. (June
15, 1933 and January 22, 1938 issues of the Toreador)
- In February 1967, Danny Hardaway became the first
African-American athlete at Texas Tech to receive an
athletic scholarship and he was a charter member of the
university's first black student organization.
Early Student Organizations:
A listing of some of the earliest Texas Tech student
organizations is slowly being compiled and available
here.
X.
Chronology of TTU Departments and Degrees Below is information on the development of departments and colleges and the
degrees they awarded.
-
1923 -- On
February 10th, Governor Pat Neff signed legislation authorizing the
establishment of a new college in West Texas
-
1925 -- 4
co-ordinate colleges: The College of Liberal Arts, the College of Household
Economics [later called Home Economics], the College of Agriculture, and the College of Engineering.
All were four year course systems.
-
1925 -- first
classes held at Texas Technological College in September for first year
freshman and sophomores
-
1925 -- The
College of Liberal Arts offered a A. B. degree, while the other three
colleges offered a B. S. degree
-
1926 --
starting in September, classes held at Texas Technological College for
junior classes
-
1927 --
starting in September, classes held at Texas Technological College for
senior classes
-
1928 -- the
first master's degrees were given to three Tech students.
-
1933 -- the
first Law class was organized at Tech
-
1935 -- the
Graduate School is inaugurated
-
1942 -- the
School of Business Administration is inaugurated
-
1949 -- the
Graduate Council expresses concern that Tech is "making a very poor
showing as to the number of our graduate students" and recommends three
recommendations, including offering a Doctor's degree (BOD 1/15/49)
-
1949 --
approved conferring of degrees for emergency purposes at the conclusion
of each fall semester (BOD 12/10/49 #357)
-
1952 -- the
first Ph.D. was awarded [for a photo, see Heritage Club Photograph
Collection #E178]
-
1964 --
approval for the Law School was received
-
1967 -- the
Law School was inaugurated
Click here to view a chronology of TTU departments/colleges and
degrees awarded |