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University of Texas at Arlington

Coordinates: 32°43′52″N 97°06′54″W / 32.731°N 97.115°W / 32.731; -97.115
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For other system schools, see University of Texas System.
The University of Texas at Arlington
File:UTArlington-logo.png
MottoDisciplina Praesidium Civitatis
(Latin for "Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy")
TypeState university
Established1895
EndowmentUSD $61,000,000
PresidentJames D. Spaniolo
Academic staff
1,365
Undergraduates24,810
Postgraduates6,078
Location
Arlington
,
Texas
,
US
Campussuburban, 400 acres (1.6 km2) on main campus
ColorsBlue and White[1]            
NicknameMaverick
MascotBlaze [2]
Websitewww.uta.edu

The University of Texas at Arlington (also referred to as UT Arlington or UTA) is a comprehensive doctoral/research university in Arlington, Texas (USA). It is classified by Carnegie as Research University - High Activity.[3] UT Arlington has a student population of over 28,000 and is the third largest institution of the University of Texas System. The university offers 78 baccalaureate, 73 masters, and 33 doctoral degrees.

The university operates the Fort Worth Education Center and the Automated Robotics & Research Institute, with campuses at Santa Fe Station (downtown Fort Worth) and River Bend Park (east Fort Worth).

History

Established in 1895 as Arlington College, it was renamed Carlisle Military Academy (1902), Arlington Training School (1913), and Arlington Military Academy (1916). In March 1917, the school was renamed Grubbs Vocational College and became a state-supported institution for the first time as the northern campus of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). While part of the A&M system, the school was renamed North Texas Agricultural College (1923) and then Arlington State College (1949). The college achieved four-year status in 1959.[4]. A 1963 reorganization of the Texas A&M University System focused on the College Station campus, even though the enrollment at Arlington State College exceeded enrollment at the College Station campus at the time. The decision by the Texas A&M University governing board to focus on the College Station campus led officials of Arlington State College and a number of Arlington citizens to enlist the support of Governor John Connally and key members of the Texas Legislature to separate Arlington State College from the Texas A&M University System and to join The University of Texas System. On April 23, 1965, Arlington State College officially became a part of The University of Texas System. Its name changed in 1967 to The University of Texas at Arlington.[5]

From 1972 until 1991, enrollment grew from 14,028 students to approximately 25,125. Enrollment in the fall of 1998 was 18,662 students. During that same twenty year period, 20 bachelor's degree programs, 23 master's degree programs, and 17 doctoral degree programs were approved.[6] As of the fall of 2009, the enrollment was 28,084 students.

The UT Arlington main campus also sits above the Barnett Shale formation. Natural gas drilling on the campus began in 2008. UT-Arlington is projected to earn about $25-75 million over the next 10 years from gas production. These funds will be used for scholarships, faculty recruitment, and infrastructure upgrades of the campus.[7]

Presidents

Presidents, Deans, and other heads of U.T. Arlington and its predecessor institutions:

  • Lee Morgan Hammond & William H. Trimble, 1895-1902[8]
  • James McCoy Carlisle, 1902-1913[8]
  • Henry Kirby Taylor, 1913-1916
  • John B. Dodson, 1916-1917
  • Dean Myron L. Williams, 1917-1923
  • Dean Edward Everett Davis, 1923-1946
  • , 1939-1946[citation needed]
  • E.H. Hereford, P.D., 1946-1958[8]
  • Jack R. Woolf, Ph.D., 1959-1968[8]
  • Frank Harrison, Ph.D., 1968-1972
  • Wendell Nedderman, Ph.D. 1972-1992[8]
  • Ryan Amacher, Ph.D., 1992-1995
  • Robert E. Witt, Ph.D. 1995-2003
  • Charles A. Sorber, Ph.D., 2003-2004 (Interim)
  • James D. Spaniolo, M.P.A., J.D., 2004-Present

Academic profile

The university contains 11 colleges and schools, each listed with its founding date:[9]

  • School of Architecture
  • College of Business
  • College of Education and Health Professions
  • College of Engineering (1959)[10]
  • Graduate School (1965)[10]
  • Honors College
  • College of Liberal Arts
  • College of Nursing (1972, as The University of Texas Nursing School in Tarrant County; merged with UT Arlington 1976 as School of Social Work)[11][12]
  • College of Science
  • School of Social Work
  • School of Urban and Public Affairs (1967)

UT Arlington’s College of Engineering offers eight baccalaureate programs, 12 master’s and 9 doctorates. It is the fourth largest engineering college in Texas, with about 3,700 students. The staff includes approximately 150 full time and 20 part time faculty members, over twenty of whom are Fellows in professional societies.[13]

UT Arlington's College of Nursing has grown and developed into a nationally recognized program and one of the largest in the United States with more than 100 faculty and 1,000 nursing students. The school’s 9,000 alumni attended UTASON as their first choice to prepare them for their nursing careers as professionals with baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees.[11]

UT Arlington's business program consistently ranks among the state's top programs in accounting graduates passing the certified public accountant exam; the most recent survey (for the Spring 2004 exam) showed UT Arlington as the top state program in terms of successful candidates. [6]

Unique liberal arts programs include Southwestern Studies and Mexican-American studies.

UT Arlington's library system has five locations: the Central Library, Science and Engineering Library, Architecture and Fine Arts Library, and two electronic libraries at the College of Business Administration and the School of Social Work.

Special Collections of the university library include historical collections on Texas, Mexico, the Mexican-American War, and the greater southwest. An extensive cartography collection holds maps and atlases of the western hemisphere covering 5 centuries. Also included is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram photo archives, a collection representing over 100 years of North and West Texas history. All together, Special Collections holds more than 30,000 volumes, 7,000 linear ft. of manuscripts and archival collections, 5,000 historical maps, 3.6 million prints and negatives, and thousands of items in other formats. [7]

UT Arlington has the only accredited school of architecture in the North Texas region.[14]

UT Arlington is home of a university-based nanotechnology research facility, NanoFab Research and Teaching Facility.

For FY 2008, the university's research expenditures totaled $66.6 million.

Athletics

File:UT-Arlington-v4-mascot-full.png
Blaze, the UT Arlington Mascot
See also: UT Arlington Mavericks football

UT Arlington's athletic teams are known as the Mavericks (the selection was made in 1971 and predated the Dallas Mavericks choice in 1980). UT Arlington fields teams or competitors in 14 NCAA Division I events, including baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, track and volleyball. UT Arlington is a charter member of the Southland Conference and one of two charter members still in the conference.[citation needed]

The University routinely wins conference championships and sends teams to NCAA tournaments. Volleyball achieved the greatest team success of all sports in the history of the university by advancing to the 1989 NCAA Volleyball Final Four. The women's basketball team played in the 2005 and 2007 NCAA tournaments; the men's basketball team made its first appearance in the 2008 NCAA tournament, losing in the first round against #1 seed Memphis.

UT Arlington has won the Southland Conference's Commissioners Cup more times than any other conference team - three times since the award was first instituted in 1998. The Commissioners Cup is awarded to the athletics program with the highest all-around performance in all conference events, including all men's and women's events.

UT Arlington's basketball and volleyball teams play at Texas Hall, which may be one of collegiate athletics' most distinctive facilities. Texas Hall is a 4,200 seat theater, and the teams play on the theater stage. Fans can sit either in the theater seats or in bleachers on the stage. In 2005, the University administration proposed a new Special Events Center, including a state of the art arena better designed for basketball and volleyball as well as other university activities.[15]

UT Arlington fielded a football program, playing out of Maverick Stadium, until 1985 when it disbanded football after the season. The school administration blamed its decision on major losses, nearly $1 million a year, as well as low average attendance (5,600, the student body at the time was 23,100). By the end, the program was funded by the university's auxiliary enterprise income while the other 14 sports were under-funded, as football accounted for half the total athletic budget.[16] In April 2004, UT Arlington students voted by a 2-to-1 margin to increase their student athletic fees by $2 per semester-credit hour should the university reinstate football and begin women's golf and women's soccer teams; however, after review, President James D. Spaniolo dismissed the idea as too costly in terms of time and resources.[17]

Traditions

  • Bed Races: Since 1980, hundreds of students have gathered to watch teams consisting of four pushers and a rider race against each other in a race just over the length of a football field. Teams consist of student organizations, Greek organizations, and residence halls from around UT Arlington.[18]
  • International Week: "I-week" is put together by the International Student Organization, and branches out the UT Arlington community in its entirety promoting diversity between cultures on campus. The most recent I-week will focus on 3000+ international students that currently attend UT Arlington by drawing attention to their nationality and through their cultural student organizations. I-week typically includes a Food Fair, Fashion Show, Global Extravaganza, Exhibits, and more.[19]
  • UT Arlington Marching Band: Known as "The Ambassadors of the University," the UT Arlington Marching Band is one of the few college marching bands in the nation to exist without a football team. For almost 20 years, the UT Arlington Marching Band has pioneered a new path in musical and visual excellence, striving to provide audiences with state-of-the-art presentations. The band performs annually for crowds numbering 100,000 and is featured in exhibition performances at state and local contests, such as Bands of America and Regional UIL, as well as festivals and high school and professional football games. In 2001, the band performed in exhibition at the Bands of America Grand Nationals Championship, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 175 student musicians in the band represent almost all academic disciplines and majors within the University. Excellence and excitement are the cornerstones for the UT Arlington Marching Band's tradition of success.[20]
  • Rubbing Hereford's Head: Dr. E.H. Hereford was UT Arlington's president from 1946-58. His sculpted likeness still watches over students from its perch in the University Center. Superstition holds that rubbing Dr. Hereford's head gives good luck on exams. This tradition is now carried out online to bring good luck.[21]
  • Ooozeball: Oozeball is a tradition hosted by the Student Alumni Association[22] and Campus Recreation[23] to raise money for the Student Alumni Association Sophomore Scholarship. Once the amount for the scholarship is reached, all excess funds are donated to charity. In Oozeball, students play volleyball in artificial mud pits. Since its creation in 1989, Oozeball has become one of the most popular student traditions.[24]
  • Soaping the fountain: Occasionally mischievous students will pollute the main UT Arlington fountain at the east end of the flying bridge over Cooper street with soap, causing it to be filled with suds and requiring it to be drained and cleaned. Less often other fountains on campus are subject to the same soap abuse.

Notable people

Main article: List of University of Texas at Arlington people

See also

References

  1. ^ UTA Chat Wednesday, February 15, 2006 transcript on Branding Accessed 08 February 2010.
  2. ^ The Shorthorn - Mascot named Blaze
  3. ^ "Carnegie Foundation website". Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  4. ^ History of the University Accessed 6 March 2007.
  5. ^ History of The University and Summary of Campus Planning Accessed 16 April 2007.
  6. ^ [ibid.] Accessed 16 April 2007.
  7. ^ [1] UT Arlington Receives First Natural Gas Royalty Check] 2009-01-23, retrieved 2009-01-30
  8. ^ a b c d e What’s in a name? Building namesakes include former presidents, deans, coaches and an astronaut, UT-Arlington Magazine, Sprint/Summer 2008, retrieved 2008-11-07
  9. ^ Colleges, Schools, and Departments The University of Texas at Arlington. Accessed 6 February 2010.
  10. ^ a b University History - University Office of Finance and Administration The University of Texas at Arlington. Accessed 15 September 2006
  11. ^ a b [2] A background of the School of Nursing at UT Arlington Accessed 3 May 2007.
  12. ^ [3] The School of Nursing officially became the College of Nursing on Jan. 22, 2010
  13. ^ [4] About UsAccessed 3 May 2007.
  14. ^ [5] National Architectural Accrediting Board: Architecture Programs Accessed 13 June 2007.
  15. ^ The Shorthorn: Fee awaits final approval
  16. ^ Executive Summary of the Neinas Report, UT Arlington Sports Expansion Study, 2004, Accessed May 13, 2008.
  17. ^ James D. Spaniolo, Sports Expansion Announcement, UT Arlington Sports Expansion Study, January 20, 2005, Accessed May 13, 2008.
  18. ^ UT Arlington Bed Races, 2005
  19. ^ UT Arlington International Week
  20. ^ UT Arlington Marching Band
  21. ^ Rubbing Hereford's Head
  22. ^ Student Alumni Association
  23. ^ Campus Recreation
  24. ^ Oozeball
  25. ^ UT ARLINGTON GRADUATION CELEBRATION TO FEATURE ALUMNUS TOMMY FRANKS
  26. ^ "State Bar of Texas: Steven Wayne Smith". texasbar.com. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  27. ^ "UTA College of Liberal Arts Fact Sheet- Notable Alumni".

External links

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