Texas Tech University
Archives
Below are historical tidbits on the establishment and growth of Texas Tech
University.
I. Establishment, II. Campus Buildings and Structures, III. Techsan Articles, IV. Who's Who, V. Horn Professors, VI. Board of Regents, VII. Texas Tech Song, VIII. Enrollment and Graduation Information, IX. Texas Tech Firsts, and X. Chronology of TTU Departments and Degrees
Texas Senate Bill [often referred to as the "School Charter"]
Senate Bill No. 103 provided for the establishment of a “State school west of the 98th meridian and north of the 29th parallel,” thereby setting the ground work for the creation of Texas Technological School. Among the purposes of the school 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.
-
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]
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 beginning of Texas Tech:
- 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.
- 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 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.
Early TTU History
- Robert Abbott Oral History interview (2000)- Covers the dedication and groundbreaking ceremony of Texas Technological College in the 1920s.
- Mrs. Lucille Graves oral history interview (1974)- Covers her admittance into Tech as the first African-American student
- R. C. Marshall Jr. oral history interview (1980)- Recalls writing the lyrics to "The Matador Song"
- Texas Tech Days oral history interview (1955-1957)
- S ? William Tubbs Papers, 1923: This collection consists of two bank receipts from 1923 concerning the payment for securing land for the creation of the West Texas Technological College, which then became Texas Technological College. William Tubbs paid a sum of $500 on a pledge to secure land that lead to the creation of Texas Tech.
Several departmental biographies have been written, including:
- An Early History of Chemistry at Texas Tech University, 1925-1970
- Foreign Languages at Texas Tech University, 1967-2002
- Texas Tech Turns 75 - Timeline
II. Campus 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.
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 available much information on the TTU Public Art Collection pieces and artists.
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.
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."]z
III. Texas
Techsan Retrospective Articles
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.
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.
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.
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.
Click here to read Texas Tech Board of Regent minutes from 1999-2006.
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.
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
A 1926 Texas Technological College Song Book included:
|
|
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, ocation distribution, majors, ethnicity, gender and age.
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)
Graduation Milestones:
Estus C. Polk, who majored in english, earned the first Ph.D. at Texas Tech in 1952. (Texas Techsan article, September 1952)
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 graduate 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)
Music Milestones:
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)
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
- 1935 -- the Graduate School is inaugurated
- 1942 -- the School of Business Administration is inaugurated
- 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