Everything about The University Of Texas At Austin totally explained
The
University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as
The University of Texas,
UT Austin,
UT, or
Texas) is a major research university located in
Austin,
Texas and the
flagship institution of
The University of Texas System. The main campus is located less than a mile from the
Texas State Capitol in Austin. UT Austin was named one of the original eight "
Public Ivy" institutions of higher education; for example, a public institution that "provides an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price." Founded in 1883, the university has had
the fifth largest single-campus enrollment in the nation as of fall 2006 (and had the largest enrollment in the country from 1997–2003), with nearly 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff.
The university also operates various auxiliary facilities aside from the main campus, most notably the
J. J. Pickle Research Campus. Texas is a major center for academic research, annually exceeding $380 million in funding. In addition, the university's athletic programs were recognized by
Sports Illustrated, which dubbed UT "America's Best Sports College" in 2002.
History
The first mention of a public university in
Texas can be traced to the 1827 constitution for the
Mexican state of
Coahuila y Tejas. Although an article promised to establish public education in the arts and sciences, no action was ever taken by the Mexican government. After Texas obtained its independence from Mexico in 1836, the Congress of Texas adopted the
Constitution of the Republic, which included a provision to establish public education in
republic, including two universities or colleges. On
January 26,
1839, the Congress of Texas agreed to eventually set aside fifty
leagues of land towards the effort; in addition, forty acres in the new capital of Austin were reserved and designated "College Hill."
In 1846, Texas was annexed into the
United States. The state legislature passed the
Act of 1858, which set aside $100,000 in United States
bonds towards construction. In addition, the legislature designated land, previously reserved for the encouragement of railroad construction, toward the universities' fifty leagues. However, Texas's
secession from the Union and the
American Civil War prevented further action on these plans.
The passing of the
Morrill Act in 1862 facilitated the creation of
Texas A&M University, which was established in 1876 as the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas. The
Texas Constitution of 1876 mandated that the state establish a university "at an early day," calling for the creation of a "university of the first class," The University of Texas. It revoked the endowment of the railroad lands of the Act of 1858 but appropriated one million acres (4000 km²) in West Texas. In 1883, another two million were granted, with income from the sale of land and
grazing rights going to The University of Texas and Texas A&M.
In 1881, Austin was chosen as the site of the main university, and Galveston was designated the location of the medical department. On the original "College Hill," an official ceremony began construction on what is now referred to as the old Main Building in late 1882. The university opened its doors on
September 15,
1883.
The old
Victorian-
Gothic Main Building served as the central point of the campus's forty acre site, and was used for nearly all purposes. However, by the 1930s, discussions rose about the need for new library space, and the Main Building was razed in 1934 over the objections of many students and faculty. The modern-day tower and Main Building were constructed in its place.
Constitutional restrictions against funding building construction hampered expansion. However, the funds generated by
oil discovered on university-owned grounds in 1923 were put towards its general endowment fund. This extra revenue allowed the university to pay down its debt, and pass bond in 1931 and 1947, funding the necessary expansion after the enrollment spike following
World War II. The university built 19 permanent structures between 1950 and 1965, when it was given the right of
eminent domain. With this power, the university purchased additional properties surrounding the original forty acres.
Campus
UT property totals 850 acres (3.4 km²), comprised of the 350 acres (1.4 km²) for the main campus and other land for the
J.J. Pickle Research Campus in north Austin and the other properties throughout Texas.
One of the university's most visible features is the
Beaux-Arts Main Building, including a tower designed by
Paul Philippe Cret. Completed in 1937, the Main Building is located in the middle of campus. The tower usually appears illuminated in white light in the evening but is lit orange for various special occasions, including athletic victories and academic accomplishments; it's conversely darkened for solemn occasions. At the top of the tower is a
carillon of 56 bells, the largest in Texas. Songs are played on weekdays by resident carillonneur Tom Anderson, in addition to the usual pealing of
Westminster Quarters every quarter hour between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. The tower went through a few periods of being closed to the public (due to the 1966 Whitman Massacre and multiple suicide jumps); however, in 1998, after the installation of security and safety measures, the observation deck reopened to the public indefinitely for weekend tours.
The university is home to 7 museums and 17 libraries, which hold over eight million volumes. The holdings of the university's
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center include one of only 21 remaining complete copies of the
Gutenberg Bible and the first permanent photograph,
View from the Window at Le Gras, taken by
Nicéphore Niépce. The newest museum, the
Blanton Museum of Art, opened in April 2006 and hosts approximately 17,000 works from Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
UT has an extensive underground
tunnel system that links many of the buildings. The tunnel system, purportedly used for communications and utility service, is closed to the public and is guarded by
silent alarms. The university also operates a 1.1 megawatt
nuclear reactor at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, which has gone critical twice in its history: once at Taylor Hall in 1963 and again in 1992.
The university continues to expand its facilities on campus. In February 2006, the Board of Regents voted to update and expand the football stadium, and in March 2006 the student body passed a referendum to build a new Student Activities Center next to Gregory Gym on the east side of campus, pending final approval by the Board of Regents. According to
The Daily Texan, the project is estimated to cost $51 million and is set to open between fall 2010 and fall 2012. Funding will primarily come from students, raising tuition by a maximum of $65 per semester.
The university operates a public radio station,
KUT, which provides local
FM broadcasts as well as live streaming audio over the Internet. The university uses
Capital Metro to provide bus transportation for students around the campus and throughout Austin.
Academic profile
Rankings
UT Austin consistently receives high rankings for several of its programs and overall. The 2008
U.S. News and World Report ranks Texas #44 in the nation and #12 among public universities, while a 2007
The Washington Monthly report ranked UT Austin #19 in the nation. Additionally, UT Austin was ranked as the #6 Top American Research University for 2007, and a 2005
USA Today report ranked the university as "the number one source of new
Fortune 1000 CEOs". In international rankings, Texas was ranked #4 in a
Zhejiang University (
China) 2005 report on the innovativeness of universities worldwide, and #15 worldwide in a 2004
Times Higher Education Supplement (England) report. Seven UT Austin
doctoral programs ranked in the top 10 in the nation for 2008, with 22 departments also in the top 25.
One of the most renowned schools at the university is the
McCombs School of Business, which comprises national rankings of the #1 undergraduate and graduate
accounting programs, the #2
marketing program, the #4 management research productivity, the #10 undergraduate business program, and the #18 (full-time) MBA program. A 2005
Bloomberg survey also ranked the school #5 among all business schools and #1 among public business schools for the largest number of alumni who are
S&P 500 CEOs.
While UT Austin doesn't have a medical school, it houses medical programs associated with other campuses and allied health professional programs, which has contributed to the College of Pharmacy's #2 2008 national ranking by
U.S. News and World Report. Other programs highly ranked by
U.S. News and World Report include the #10 College of Education, the #11
Cockrell School of Engineering, and the #16 School of Law. Additionally, the university's library system—its main campus library the
Perry-Castañeda Library—ranks #6 among academic libraries in the nation.
Colleges and schools
The university contains sixteen colleges and academic units, each listed with its founding date:
UT Austin offers more than 100 undergraduate and 170 graduate degrees. In the 2003-2004 academic year, the university awarded a total of 13,065 degrees: 68.6%
bachelor's degrees, 21.7%
master's degrees, 5.2%
doctoral degrees, and 4.5% other professional degrees. UT Austin also offers numerous undergraduate honors programs, such as Dean's Scholars, Turing Scholars, Business Honors, Plan II, and Liberal Arts Honors.
Admission
As a state public university, UT Austin is subject to
Texas House Bill 588 (aka HB 588, the top ten percent law, or the
percent plan), which guarantees graduating Texas high school seniors in the top 10% of their class admission to any public Texas university. For others who go through the traditional application process, selectivity at UT Austin is deemed "more selective" according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In fall 2006, a total of 27,315 applications were received and 13,305 were admitted. In fall 2007, 27,232 applications and 13,781 students were admitted.
Faculty and research
In Fall 2007, UT Austin employed 2,300
full-time faculty members, 51% who were tenured. The student-to-faculty ratio is 19.23. The university's faculty includes winners of the
Nobel Prize, the
Pulitzer Prize, the
National Medal of Science, the
National Medal of Technology, and numerous other awards.
The university exceeds $446 million in annual research funding and has earned more than 400 patents since its founding. (Licensing deals generate more than $5 million annually for the university.)
Endowment
The university receives income from an endowment known as the
Permanent University Fund (PUF), with $11.6 billion (
fourth-largest in the
United States) in assets as of November 2005, of which 30 percent is dedicated to the university. Proceeds from lands appropriated in 1839 and 1876, as well as oil monies, comprise the majority of this fund. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas's two university systems, The University of Texas System and
the Texas A&M University System; today, however, its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the universities' annual budgets. This has challenged the universities to increase sponsored research and private donations. Privately funded endowments contribute over $2 billion to the University's total endowment value.
Student life
The university enrolls 37,377 undergraduate, 11,533 graduate and 1,467 law students. The student population includes students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries, most notably,
South Korea, followed by
India, the
People's Republic of China,
Mexico and the
Republic of China, are represented. The average
SAT score for entering Fall 2004
freshmen was a 1230 out of 1600.
Housing
The campus is currently home to fourteen residence halls, the last of which opened for residence in Spring 2007. On-campus housing can hold more than 7,100 students.
Jester Center is the largest residence hall with its capacity of 2,945. Academic enrollment exceeds the capacity of on-campus housing; as a result, most students must live in private residence halls,
housing cooperatives, apartments, or with
Greek organizations and other off-campus residences. The Division of Housing and Food Service, which already has the largest market share of 7,000 of the estimated 27,000 beds in the campus area, plans to expand to 9,000 beds in the near future.
Student organizations
The university recognizes more than 1,000 student organizations. In addition, it supports three official student governance organizations that represent student interests to faculty, administrators, and the Texas Legislature. Student Government, established in 1902, is the oldest governance organization and represents student interests in general. The Senate of College Councils represents students in academic affairs and coordinates the college councils, and the Graduate Student Assembly represents graduate student interests. The Texas Union Student Events Center serves as the hub for student activities on campus.
Greek life
The University of Texas at Austin is home to an active Greek community. The first UT Greek chapter, the Kappa Alpha Order Omicron Chapter, opened in
1883; the same year as the university. Over 11 percent of undergraduate students make up the nearly 4,500 members. With more then 50 national
fraternity and sorority chapters, the university's Greek community is one of the largest in the nation. These
chapters are under the authority of one of UT Austin's five Greek council communities,
Interfraternity Council,
National Pan-Hellenic Council, Texas Asian Pan-Hellenic Council, United Greek Council and University Panhellenic Council. Other registered student organizations also name themselves with Greek letters and are called affiliates. They are not a part of one of the five councils but have all of the same privileges and responsibilities of any other organization. While there are no
fraternity and sorority houses located on-campus, the majority are located west of
The Drag in the neighborhood called
West Campus.
School spirit
School colors: The school's official colors are orange and white, with burnt orange — also known as Texas Orange — being the specific shade of orange used.
Fight song and "Hook 'em, Horns!" At football games, students frequently sing "Texas Fight," the university's fight song, while displaying the Hook 'em Horns hand gesture. The University of Texas Longhorn Band is also known as the Showband of the Southwest.
Mascot: The school mascot is a Texas longhorn named Bevo.
Student media
Study Breaks Magazine, a college-age entertainment and drink special magazine.
The Daily Texan, the most award-winning daily college newspaper in the United States
Texas Travesty, the college humor publication with the largest circulation in the United States.
K09VR, the only FCC-licensed student-managed television station in the country.
The Cactus Yearbook
, the school's yearbook.
KVRX, a student-run college radio station.
The Vector (External Link), a monthly publication within the Cockrell School of Engineering.
Other student-run publications include:
ACTLab TV
Athletics
The University of Texas offers a wide variety of varsity and intramural sports programs. Due to the breadth of sports offered and the quality of the programs, Texas was selected as "America's Best Sports College" in a 2002 analysis performed by Sports Illustrated. Texas was also listed as the number one Collegiate Licensing Company client for the second consecutive year in regards to the amount of annual trademark royalties received from the sales of its fan merchandise. However this ranking is based only on clients of the Collegiate Licensing Company which doesn't handle licensing for approximately three dozen large schools such as Ohio State, Southern California, UCLA, Michigan State, and Texas A&M.
Varsity sports
The university's men's and women's athletics teams are nicknamed the Longhorns. A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, Texas now competes in the Big 12 Conference (South Division) of the NCAA's Division I-FBS. Texas has won 47 total national championships, 39 of which are NCAA national championships.
The University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse. At the start of the 2007 season, the Longhorns were ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage. The team experienced its greatest success under coach Darrell Royal, winning three national championships in 1963, 1969, 1970, and winning a fourth title under head coach Mack Brown in 2005 after the 41-38 victory over previously undefeated Southern California in the 2006 Rose Bowl.
In recent years, the men's basketball team has gained prominence, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen in 2002, the Final Four in 2003, the Sweet Sixteen in 2004, and the Elite Eight in 2006 and 2008.
The university's baseball team is considered one of the best in the nation with more trips to the College World Series than any other school, with wins in 1949, 1950, 1970, 1983, 2002 and 2005.
Additionally, the university's highly successful men's and women's swimming and diving teams lay claim to sixteen NCAA Division I titles. In particular, the men's team is under the leadership of Eddie Reese, who served as the head men's coach at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, and the 2004 Games in Athens.
Rivalries
One of the university's notable rivals in many sports is Texas A&M University. The two schools have acknowledged the importance of this rivalry by creating the State Farm Lone Star Showdown series, which encompasses all sports where both schools field a varsity team. The football game played between the two schools is the third longest-running rivalry in the nation and is the longest-running rivalry for both schools. The game used to be played on Thanksgiving day but in recent years has been played on the day following Thanksgiving. Both schools traditionally hold a rally each year before the football game — Texas hosts the Hex Rally, and students at Texas A&M host the Aggie Bonfire (although it's no longer an officially sanctioned Texas A&M event because of the deaths of 12 students in 1999).
Some fans and observers, however, argue that the Longhorns' biggest rival in football is the University of Oklahoma. The football game between Texas and Oklahoma is known as the Red River Shootout and is held annually in Dallas, Texas, at the Cotton Bowl. In recent years, this rivalry has been particularly spirited, in part due to the fact that at least one school had been ranked in the top five nationally at the time of the game (from 2000-05).
Other schools, such as Arkansas and Texas Tech, also consider Texas among their rivals.
Facilities
Major sporting facilities and their main use include:
Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium — football
Frank Erwin Special Events Center — basketball
UFCU Disch-Falk Field — baseball
Mike A. Myers Stadium — soccer
Red and Charline McCombs Field — softball
Gregory Gymnasium — volleyball
Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center — swimming and diving
Penick-Allison Tennis Center — tennis
Texas Rowing Center — rowing
In addition, the university has numerous practice, training, and intramural facilities.
Notable people
The university has a base of more than 450,000 living alumni and has produced leaders of science, art, media, business, law, engineering, and public policy, as well as athletics. A few household-name alumni include the following:
Further Information
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