Sam Houston State University
| Sam Houston State University | |
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| Motto | The Measure of a Life is its Service |
| Established | 1879 |
| Type | Public |
| Endowment | $48,270,972 |
| President | Dr. Dana L. Gibson |
| Academic staff | 598 |
| Students | 17,618 |
| Location | Huntsville, Texas, USA |
| Campus | Urban, 272 acres (1.1 km²) main campus |
| Former names | Sam Houston Normal Institute (1879–1923) Sam Houston State Teachers College (1923–65) Sam Houston State College (1965–69) |
| Colors | Orange and White |
| Nickname | Bearkats |
| Website | www.shsu.edu |
Sam Houston State University (known as SHSU or Sam) was founded in 1879 and is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. It is located 70 miles north of Houston in the hills, lakes, and forests region of East Texas in Huntsville. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first such institution of its type in the State of Texas. The school is named for one of Texas's founding fathers, Sam Houston, who made his home in the city. SHSU is part of the Texas State University System and has an enrollment of more than 17,600 students. It was the first institution classified as a Doctoral Research University by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education within the Texas State University System.[1] While education continues to be the most popular major among students at the university, SHSU is also well known for its criminal justice program.
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[edit] History
Created by legislation signed by Governor Oran M. Roberts on April 21, 1879, Sam Houston Normal Institute's dedicated goal was to train teachers for the public schools of Texas—the first of its kind in the southwestern United States. On October 10 of the same year, the first class of 110 students and four faculty commenced instruction on the site of what had once been the campus of Austin College. The original building, Austin Hall, was constructed in 1851 and is the oldest university building west of the Mississippi still in operation. Peabody Memorial Library was the first free-standing library and was constructed in 1901 with funds provided by the George Peabody Foundation, and it is still in use as a venue for special university events.
When the university first opened, students received a certification to teach in the state's elementary and secondary schools, but after 1919, the university began to award bachelor's degrees. In 1936, the school awarded its first post-baccalaureate degree.
The university celebrated its 125th year of operation in 2004.
The university launched its first capital campaign in March 2006 with a $50 million goal and closed the campaign's books on August 31, 2010, with $61.2 million in commitments. The university has more than 102,000 living, addressable alumni and an active Alumni Association holding 165 meetings and events annually.
In 2011, the university announced its plans to open the Northwest Houston Campus on the property of Lone Star College-University Park in unincorporated Harris County.[2]
[edit] Name changes
Throughout the course of its history, Sam has undergone several name changes.
- April 21, 1879, founded as Sam Houston Normal Institute
- 1923: Sam Houston State Teachers College
- 1965: Sam Houston State College
- 1969: Sam Houston State University
In 2007, a proposal was briefly considered to change the school's name to Texas State University – Sam Houston (intending to associate the campus more with the Texas State University System of which it is a member). However, in April, 2007, Texas House Bill 1418 passed without objection in the Texas Legislature; which prevents the Texas State University System’s Board of Regents from changing the university's name.
[edit] Campus
Sam Houston State University sits on 272 acres (1.10 km2) in the central area of Huntsville, Texas. Recent construction of an expanded mall area of campus includes benches, tables, wireless internet, and more greenspace in the heart of campus. The mall area also includes two clock towers and a water fountain.
The campus stood in for the fictional Austin University in the motion picture The Life of David Gale.
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An Entrance to SHSU
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The Old Main Pit
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Raven Village Dormitory
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Sam Houston Village Dormitory
[edit] Academics
Sam Houston State's academic departments and programs are organized into six colleges. Colleges at Sam Houston State University are:
- College of Business Administration
- College of Criminal Justice
- College of Education
- College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication
- College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- College of Sciences
Additionally, the university enrolls more than 350 students in the Elliott T. Bowers Honors College. Programs within criminal justice are frequently mentioned as being among the top three programs in the nation. The university offers the only Professional Golf Management program in Texas. The Theater and Dance programs are ranked among the nation's best and are housed in the state-of-the-art James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center. The university boasts one of the oldest speech and debate programs in the nation. The team, which has existed since the late 1800s, brought home five International Public Debate Association national titles during the 2009–2010 season.
The university has further embraced technology, offering both bachelor's and master's degrees via distance learning in several areas, including history and criminal justice. Currently (as of 12/2008 and 10/2009), the university offers:
- Seventy-eight undergraduate degree programs
- Fifty-four masters' programs
- Six doctoral programs (Clinical Psychology, Counselor Education, Criminal Justice, Educational Leadership, Special Education, and Reading)[3]
[edit] College of Criminal Justice
SHSU's College of Criminal Justice is the largest and one of the oldest criminal justice programs in the nation. In 1970, the College became one of the first programs in the U.S. to offer the Ph.D. in criminal justice, and it is the first in the State of Texas to offer the Masters of Science in Forensic Science. The College faculty were recently recognized as the 4th most productive in terms of research in the country, and their areas of expertise range from serial murder, hate crime, and terrorism to policing, law, corrections, and security.
The College of Criminal Justice includes the headquarters of the Texas Forensic Science Commission.[4] It also houses the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, which specializes in training for local, state, and federal law enforcement officers in the area of management and supervision.
[edit] Texas Studies
The university has been commended as of late for offering courses that encourage the study of the lore, the lure, and the history of the Lone Star State.[5]
[edit] Athletics
Sam Houston State's colors are orange and white and their nickname is the Bearkats. Sam Houston State sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Championship Subdivision for football) in the Southland Conference. SHSU's primary rival is Stephen F. Austin State University and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other. Texas State University–San Marcos is also another rival (currently also in the Southland Conference, but moving to the WAC starting in the 2012-2013 academic year.) Most recently, the top-ranked Bearkat football team was defeated by North Dakota State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship.
SHSU's athletic teams have been nicknamed "The Bearkats" since 1923 when the University's name was changed by the Texas State Legislature from Sam Houston Normal Institute to Sam Houston State Teachers College. Prior to 1923, the varsity sports teams were nicknamed "The Normals."
It is doubtful those who coined the "Bearkat" nickname had a particular animal in mind. More likely, the name came from a popular local saying of the time, "tough as a Bearkat!" The late Reed Lindsey, who was a student/athlete in the 1920s and later retired as University registrar, once said that "it was a good fighting name of the time." Since the animal in the saying was thought more mythical than real, the spelling settled upon was "Bearkat."
In the late 1940s, then SHSU president Harmon Lowman attempted to change the SHSU mascot from Bearkats to "Ravens" (after General Sam Houston's Cherokee nickname). Mrs. Vernon Schuder reported that the alumni were polled and she voted for the raven but that "all those old Bearkats beat us out!"
A Sammy Bearkat mascot character, with the later addition of a Samantha, began appearing at SHSU sports events in 1959. Samantha is now retired.
[edit] Mascot
Sam Houston's Bearkat is represented by Sammy Bearkat, a costumed mascot, who has entertained and led crowds in cheers during sporting events since 1959.
[edit] Campus media
The SHSU School of Mass Communication operates KSHU, a student-run radio (90.5 FM) and television (cable channel 7) station, broadcasting news, sports, and entertainment programming for the campus and community. "The Houstonian" is the student-published twice-weekly campus newspaper. Broadcast studios and offices for all three media are located within the Dan Rather Communication Building.
The Alcalde was the university's annual yearbook, published from 1910–1998 and 2003–2006; it was named in honor of Texas Governor Oran Roberts whose nickname was "The Old Alcalde."[6]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Dan Rather - Newscaster
- Frank Q. Dobbs - Writer-director-producer (Streets of Laredo, Gunsmoke)
- Richard Linklater - Film director
- Rhett Bomar - NFL Quarterback
- Josh McCown - NFL Quarterback
- Charlie Wilson - Member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 2nd congressional district (portrayed in the movie Charlie Wilson's War by actor Tom Hanks)
[edit] References
- ^ "Sam Houston Receives Higher Carnegie Classification". Heritage: The Magazine of Sam Houston State University: pp. 16. Spring 2009.
- ^ "SHSU To Showcase New Campus With Open House." Sam Houston State University. March 29, 2011. Retrieved on September 18, 2011.
- ^ "Degrees offered". Sam Houston State University. http://www.shsu.edu/gradcat/degreesoffered.html. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ "Contact Us." Texas Forensic Science Commission. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
- ^ "Texas Studies". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Colleges-going-deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas-3005748.php#photo-2271403. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
- ^ "Alcalde". The Buildings of Sam Houston State University. http://www.buildingshsu.com/alcalde/. Retrieved 2006-05-24.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sam Houston State University |
- Sam Houston State University
- Sam Houston State University Athletics
- Today@Sam – Sam Houston State University News
- Sam Houston State University distance education
- Sam Houston State University Graduate Studies
- Sam Houston State University Newton Gresham Library
- Sam Houston State University Foreign Languages Department
- Photographs and History of The Old Main
- KSHU – 90.5 The Kat and Cable Channel 7
- The Houstonian
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Coordinates: 30°42′51″N 95°32′51″W / 30.714279°N 95.547366°W
