Entrance sign to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TexasTarleton Center
John Tarleton College was founded in 1887 with an endowment from settler John Tarleton.[7] John Tarleton died on September 11, 1895, and left part of his estate—mostly property—to be sold to “erect, endow and maintain” The John Tarleton College. Texas Governor Charles Allen Culberson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction James McCoy Carlisle and Erath County Judge Thomas B. King were named as trustees.
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On March 12, 1896, they appointed McIlhany principal, instructed him to open the college on September 7, 1899, and pay himself from tuition because the Tarleton estate lacked sufficient cash on hand. On July 3, 1897, trustees unanimously “continued” McIlhany “as President of College on same terms as year 1896–1897.” On January 11, 1898, to assist in local management of the college, trustees established a board of directors in Stephenville that re-elected McIlhany in February 1898, but trustees declined to ratify that action. On March 22, 1898, trustees Culberson and Carlisle elected William Herschel Bruce as second president of The John Tarleton College, and McIlhany left Stephenville that summer. From 1898 to 1903 he served as the first president of Goodnight College, near Goodnight, Texas.[8]
In 1917, U.S. Senator and Stephenville resident Henry Clark co-authored and presented legislation establishing John Tarleton Agricultural College as a member of the Texas A&M University system, certifying the Junior College within the Educational System of Texas.[9] In 1949, it was again renamed Tarleton State College then became a four-year degree-granting institution in 1959. Tarleton gained status as a university in 1973 adopting its current name, Tarleton State University.[10] In 2003 it began offering doctoral programs.[11]
The Department of Animal Sciences oversees the Tarleton Equine-Assisted Therapy (TREAT) program[16] that is designed to utilize horseback riding as a form of physical, emotional and recreational therapy. Hippotherapy (physical therapy on horseback using the horse as a therapist) has developed as a medical field recognized by most major countries.
The Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER)[17] on the Tarleton campus plays a national leadership role in environmental issues related to water quality. This program provides the university, the dairy and beef industries, environmental control agencies and governmental policy groups with water pollution data for the 230,000-acre (930 km2) Upper North Bosque River watershed.[17]
In fall 2002 the W.K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas opened at a site located near Thurber, a ghost town located approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Stephenville and about one hour west of the DFW Metroplex.[18] Funded through a $1.2 million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation and a private gift from Mrs. W.K. Gordon Jr. The center is located on 4.1 acres (17,000 m2) near the site of Texas' first coal mine and adjacent to New York Hill along Interstate 20.[19] The center is dedicated to the preservation, research and recording of Texas industrial history including coal mining, brick making and oil and gas exploration.[18]
Tarleton operates two radio stations. KXTR-LP 100.7 FM is a student-operated rock station,[20] while KTRL 90.5 FM is a public radio station broadcasting news, classical music, and jazz.[21] Both are operated by students of Tarleton State University out of the radio station located in the Mathematics building on the TSU campus.[20][21] Tarleton State University is one of three universities in the state of Texas to own and operate two radio stations; the other institutions being the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University.[22]
Campuses
Tarleton students come from 47 U.S. states and 40 countries.[4] Most university activities take place on Tarleton's 180-acre (0.73 km2) main campus.[23] An 800-acre (3.2 km2) operational university farm with classroom space is located near the main campus northwest of Stephenville with access from TX Highway 8 and US Route 281.[24] The 1,170-acre (4.7 km2) Hunewell Ranch is located in Erath County and provides additional educational facilities.[25] Tarleton also offers specialized programs at its Dora Lee Langdon Cultural and Educational Center in Granbury[26] and select programs and courses at McLennan Community College in Waco, Weatherford College in Weatherford, Bryan at the Texas A&M-RELLIS Campus, and in Fort Worth.[27] Upper-level courses were offered at Tarleton-Central Texas in Killeen until 2009 when Texas A&M University-Central Texas was formed as a separate institution.[28]
Stephenville
Most university activities take place on Tarleton's main campus in Stephenville, the county seat of Erath County.[29]
The main campus in Stephenville features a 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m2) sports recreation center opened in fall 2007.[30][31]
A $13 million, 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m2) dining facility opened in fall 2008. The new building is an extension of the student center and has two floors, a convenience store, executive meeting rooms and a cafe with a wireless network.[32]
In 2001, the university completed a $30.8 million science building complete with a 86-seat planetarium.[33] In 2014, the Science Building was named for Lamar Johnson a former professor of biological sciences and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.[34] The old science building[35] went through an extensive $13.5 million renovation and expansion upgrading laboratories and classrooms. This building is now named the Mathematics Building.[36] An observatory at Hunewell Ranch[37] houses a fully robotic 32-inch-diameter (810 mm) research-grade telescope.
The Dick Smith Library is a three-floor facility that houses materials including print books, periodicals, curriculum collection, audio-visual material, e-books, streaming media, and special collections.[38]
W.K. Gordon Center for the Industrial History of Texas[43]
Fort Worth
Tarleton–Fort Worth is a campus located in Tarrant County. The university has maintained a presence in Fort Worth since assuming control of the C.C. Terrell Memorial School of Medical Technology in the 1970s. In 2019, the university opened the first dedicated academic building[44] on an 80–acre campus is located adjacent to the Chisholm Trail Parkway in southwest Tarrant County. The building, referred to as "Building I,"[45] is a 76,000-square-foot (7,100 m2), three story multi-use facility with classroom, office space, and a library.[46][47] The campus is projected to enroll over 9,000 students by 2030.[48]
Leadership
The current and 16th president is James L. Hurley who was appointed by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in August 2019.[49] Diane Stearns is the Chief Academic Officer serving as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.[50]
As a member of the Texas A&M University System, Tarleton is one of a network of 11 higher educational institutions administered by a Chancellor and a Board of Regents. Regents are appointed by the Governor. The current Chancellor is John Sharp and chair of the Board of Regents is Elaine Mendoza.[51][52]
Tarleton students graduate at Wisdom Gym in December 2010
Tarleton State University athletics currently competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They were admitted into the WAC on July 1, 2020, therefore ending their 26-year stint at the Division II level with the Lone Star Conference (LSC).[53] Their admission into the LSC in 1995 marked their second period of membership, having previously participated from 1968 to 1975. They were a founding member of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) in 1976 and remained in that league until 1990. From 1991 to 1994 Tarleton played as an Independent.
The teams are known as the "Texans". Athletes were known as the "Plowboys" before the college became a four-year institution in 1961.
When women's sports were introduced in 1968–69, those teams played under the "Texans" nickname, but due to the desire of that day's female athletes to play under a distinctive nickname, the women's nickname was changed the next school year. "Texanns", "Tex-Anns", and "TexAnns" were used interchangeably until 1972–73, when "TexAnns" was officially settled on. Following a campaign initially led by two players and a (female) student manager in the women's basketball program, Tarleton returned the "Texans" nickname to women's teams in 2019–20.[54]
^ abTarleton fields teams in indoor and outdoor track for both sexes. The NCAA classifies indoor and outdoor track as separate sports, holding indoor championships in its winter season and outdoor championships in its spring season.
Music
Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center
The music program at Tarleton State University is a fully accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music. It is housed in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center. This multi-purpose fine arts complex contains three theatres: a 243-seat recital hall, an 805-seat auditorium, and the workshop theatre. There is a 16-keyboard piano lab and computer lab. The instrument collection includes two nine-foot concert Steinway grand pianos, the Waggener Memorial Organ (a tracker two-manual pipe organ), a Richard Kingston harpsichord, and several Steinway grand pianos that are designated for piano majors to practice. The university currently offers three music degrees, which are Bachelor of Arts in music, Bachelor of Music in music education (with all-level certification) and the Bachelor of Music in performance. It currently offers one online graduate degree, Master of Music in music education. The program has over 150 full-time enrolled students with 80% being instrumental studies and 20% being vocal studies. The Tarleton music department hosts many festivals and clinics throughout the school year, including Brass Day, TMEA All-Region Band clinics, Jazz Festival, Invitational Band Festival, TMEA Area Choir clinics, and the Let All Men Sing![57][58]
Music ensembles include The Sound and the Fury, The Texan Marching Band, Foul Play Basketball Band, Chamber Winds, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, two jazz bands, Brass Ensemble, Woodwind Chamber Ensemble, Trumpet Ensemble, Horn Choir, and Flute Choir.[59]
Texan Corps of Cadets
The Texan Corps of Cadets was founded in 1917 when John Tarleton Agriculture College joined the Texas A&M University system. The Corps of Cadets was initially known as "Johns Army".[60] The Corps of Cadets survived through the end of the 1950s. Until 2016, the school had only an Army ROTC program. However, in 2016 the Texan Corps of Cadets was brought back to the university.[61]
The Texan Corps of Cadets offers students an opportunity to obtain a minor in Leadership Studies. All cadets live together in a residence hall at Tarleton called Traditions. All cadets wear their uniforms to class every day and must abide by the regulations set forth in the "Chisel".[62]
Traditions
Oscar P.
Oscar P. was, according to legend, John Tarleton's pet duck who went everywhere with him. The two were so close that the duck is supposedly buried with Tarleton. During athletic events, students chant to raise the spirit of Oscar P.[7][63]
Purple Poo
TTP – Ten Tarleton Peppers (1921) and TTS – Ten Tarleton Sisters (1923) are the two oldest spirit organizations on campus and are precursors of the Purple Poo, a secret organization which promotes school spirit. The members in this organization keep their identities secret by appearing in public in costume. The organization gathers to make "Poo Say" signs each Monday night. The "Poo Say" signs appear nailed to trees on campus every Tuesday morning and occasionally comment on campus political life and student life.[64]
The Plowboys
The Plowboys, originally the mascot for Tarleton athletic teams, but more recently known as a spirit organization, wear purple and white shirts, cowboy hats, and purple chaps. Founded in 1984, they organize the Bonfire every year.[65]
Texan Rider
Texan Rider is Tarleton's current mascot that at one time rode a horse during the football games (this tradition was discontinued due to the renovated stadium), and wears purple chaps. The Texan Rider has been the mascot of Tarleton since 1961 when the student body chose the Texans and TexAnns to represent its athletic teams.[66]
Silver Taps
Silver Taps, a ceremony held to honor Tarleton's faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have died over the past year, is held in the spring during Founder's Week.[67]
Homecoming
During the 1980s, the Student Government Association added the Yell Contest to Homecoming Week. Student organizations perform step and dance moves to original chants and lyrics; a panel of judges selects the top two teams. The winning team has the honor of beating the drum immediately following the Plowboys.[68]
Special awards
John Tarleton Spirit Award
The John Tarleton Spirit Award originated in 1988, and is given to up to 12 students annually at the Leadership and Service Awards Banquet. Recipients are chosen based on campus involvement through organizations, special projects, and activities that contribute to the overall growth of the individual.[69]
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