Texas Tech University

Categories: Universities and colleges in Texas

Texas Tech University is a nationally recognized doctoral/research university located in Lubbock, Texas, established in 1923 originally as Texas Technological College. The array of options available to the more than 28,000 students at Texas Tech are varied and comprehensive. The students at this public school in Lubbock enjoy a campus rich in traditions and school spirit. It is one of the largest research universities in the state of Texas and is a member of the Big 12 Conference.

Texas Tech University

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MottoHaec Olim Meminisse Juvabit
(Unofficial)
Established 1923
School type Public University
Chancellor David R. Smith
President Jon Whitmore
Location Lubbock, TX, USA
Enrollment 28,325 total,
undergraduate and graduate
Faculty 2,179
Endowment US$ 392.6 million
Campus Urban, 1,839 acres (7 km²)
Sports teams Red Raiders (men's and women's teams other than women's basketball)
Lady Raiders (women's basketball)
Website www.ttu.edu

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Contents

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History

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The Great Seal of Texas Tech University

Though plans for opening a college in West Texas had been in the legislature for some time, it had long been thought that any such institution should be a branch of Texas A&M. However, in 1923 the decision was made to create a new college system entirely so as to serve the unique needs of the region.

On 10 February of that year, Governor Pat Neff signed the legislation creating Texas Technological College and the site committee began searching for a location. In August, the first ballot resulted in the selection of Lubbock and construction began on what is now considered Old Campus. Texas Technological College opened for classes in 1925 with an enrollment of 914 students.

In the 1960s it was decided that the phrase "technological college" was insufficient to define the scope of the institution, having expanded the curriculum to far more than just technical subjects. Several name changes were proposed, with Texas State University apparently having the most support from students and faculty. However, the board of directors preferred the name Texas Tech University, possibly due to a desire to preserve the "Double T" emblem. The name change was such a big issue that students held rallies and marched against the name Texas Tech University. One student stated in a letter to the University Daily "Tech to me is a coined word and does not dignify this fine institution." Despite rallies and student-led ballot initiatives (one student group, despairing at the board's refusal to listen to the student body, proposed "The University of Moscow at Lubbock"), in 1969 the board voted unanimously in favor of the change to Texas Tech University.

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Academics

Texas Tech University offers 117 Bachelor's, 104 Master's and 59 Doctoral degree programs. It is divided into the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, the College of Architecture, the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Human Sciences, the College of Mass Communications, the College of Visual & Performing Arts, the Rawls College of Business Administration, and the School of Law.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, offers schools of Allied Health, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacology. The HSC has campuses located in Lubbock, as well as in Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso, and Odessa. Aside from its teaching duties, it provides medical services to over a hundred counties, a geographic region larger than most states. A second medical school in El Paso is scheduled to open in 2007.

Texas Tech maintains a number of libraries, both general-purpose and specific (such as the Architecture and Law libraries), the most notable of which are the Southwest Special Collections and the Vietnam Archive, one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of information on the Vietnam War in the world.

The university also maintains the KTXT-FM 88.1 student radio station as well as the Public Broadcasting Service stations KOHM 89.1 FM (radio) and KTXT-TV (television).

The near 1900 acre Lubbock campus, valued at over 1 billion dollars is home to Texas Tech's main academic university, law school and school of medicine is one of the largest campuses in the nation.

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Athletics

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Texas Tech is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in Division I-A for athletics in all "major" sports. Men's teams are the Red Raiders, women's teams are the Lady Raiders.

Of the major sports, Texas Tech has had its greatest success in both men's and women's basketball and football. In 1993, the women's team won a national championship led by Sheryl Swoopes; the men's team is coached by the legendary (and controversial) Bob Knight and went to the "Sweet 16" in 2005 along with Women's team. Texas Tech had a successful year of 2005 in football too where Tech defeated 4th ranked University of California in Holiday Bowl. Texas Tech is the only program in Big 12 to be bowl eligible every season since the formation of the conference.

In addition to the "major" collegiate sports, the university offers other sports such as rugby, lacrosse, and soccer through campus intramural sports organizations.

The Masked Rider is the oldest of Texas Tech's mascots still in existence today. Originally called the "Ghost Rider," it was an unofficial mascot starting around 1936 when an unknown student (or students) would circle the field on horseback at home football games, riding into the stadium and away. The Masked Rider became the official mascot with 1954's Gator Bowl and has led the team onto the field at nearly every football game since. The Masked Rider was the nation's first horse riden mascot used in football games. The Florida State Seminoles and the USC Trojans are the most notable schools that use such a mascot today.

Tech's other current mascot, Raider Red, is more recent. Around the time of the 1971 football season, the Southwest Conference created a rule that forbade the bringing of live animal mascots to away games unless the host school permitted it. Since the Masked Rider's horse would fall under this rule an alternate mascot was created. Jim Gaspard, a member of the Saddle Tramps student spirit organization, created the original design for the Raider Red costume, basing it on a character created by Lubbock cartoonist and former mayor Dirk West. Though the Masked Rider's identity is public knowledge, it has always been tradition that Raider Red's student alter ego is kept secret until the end of his tenure. The student serving as Raider Red is a member of Saddle Tramps.

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Student publications and media

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Notable faculty

  • Rodolfo Arredondo Jr., member of the Advisory Committee to the White House Conference on Aging
  • Wendell Aycock
  • M.M. Ayoub, a pioneer in the field of ergonomics
  • Donna Bacchi, director of the Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control, president of the Texas American Heart Association.
  • B.B. Bell
  • Thomas Butler
  • Sankar Chatterjee, a well-known paleontologist
  • Pernendu Dasgupta
  • Michael Dini
  • Timothy Floyd, defender of Gulf War veteran Louis Jones, Jr.
  • Ann Hawkins
  • William Curry Holden
  • Shelby Hunt
  • Stephen Graham Jones, Blackfeet author
  • Kenneth Ketner
  • Bobby Knight, Hall of Fame Head Men's Basketball Coach
  • Mike Leach, Head Football Coach
  • Walter McDonald, poet and former Texas Poet Laureate
  • Kishor C. Mehta, Tech's first member of the National Academy of Engineering
  • E. Roland Menzel, director of the Center for Forensic Studies
  • Glen Provost, member of the Advisory Committee to the White House Conference on Aging
  • Gabor B. Racz, MD, FIPP, Pioneer in the treatment of Chronic Pain.
  • Marsha Sharp, Head Women's Basketball Coach
  • Jimmy Smith, Director of the Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism
  • Mary Jeanne van Appledorn, composer
  • Dan Cooke
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Notable alumni and ex-students

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Notable organizations


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External links


Big 12 Conference:
North Division: Colorado | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State | Missouri | Nebraska
  South Division: Baylor | Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | Texas | Texas A&M | Texas Tech   		Image:BigTwelveConference 100.png