Tejas Club

Tejas Club
Founded1925; 100 years ago (1925)
University of Texas at Austin
TypeSecret society
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
ScopeLocal
Chapters1
HeadquartersAustin, Texas
United States
Websitethetejasclub.org

The Tejas Club is one of the oldest student organizations at the University of Texas at Austin. It was founded in 1925, and only has male members. The official purpose of the club is "to allow our members to live a more complete life by sharing their personalities, abilities and efforts to promote good fellowship and a high standard of conduct among ourselves and our fellow students, to encourage loyalty and usefulness to our school, and to further good scholarship."[1] The membership process of the organization is secretive and not open to the public.

History

The Tejas Club was formed in 1925 by Tom Renfro and Howell Cobb with the vision of establishing "a club on this campus composed of men whom we believe to be honorable."[2] In its early years, Tejas was associated with Theta Nu Epsilon (ΘΝΕ), a nationwide sophomore class society which also included such organizations as Skull and Bones at Yale University, The Phoenix – S K Club and Fly Club at Harvard University, and The Ivy Club at the Princeton University.[3]

Membership

Similar to the Final Clubs at Harvard University, the process for becoming a "Newman" is highly secretive and not shared with non-members. Each class of Newmen typically consists of anywhere from 6 to 12 members, who are publicly honored at their Newman Honorary, a public event held at the Tejas House.

Activities

Tejas members have always been a highly involved and diverse group of men at the University of Texas. Multiple members of the Tejas Club have served as student body presidents and vice presidents, head cheerleaders, Texas Cowboys, Silver Spurs, Texas Blazers, members of another secret organization, the Friar Society, leadership within the Longhorn Band, chairmen of the University Union board of directors, and many other important roles on campus.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

The Tejas Club celebrated its 90th anniversary on September 5 and 6 of 2015. It will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025.[11][12]

Since the early 1930s, the Tejas Club has hosted a weekly speaker series called Tejas Coffees. As is tradition, Tejas Coffees serve as an opportunity for students to interact with influential members of their community in an inviting setting, every Thursday evening. Recent speakers have included UT professor and actor Matthew McConaughey, Texas Longhorns athletics coaches Mack Brown, Rick Barnes, Shaka Smart,[13][14] Tom Herman,[15] and Augie Garrido; Founder of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Tim League;[16] Former World No. 1 tennis player, Andy Roddick;[17] UT professors Robert Metcalfe, H.W. Brands, and Larry Speck; current UT president Gregory L. Fenves[18] and former UT presidents William C. Powers and Larry Faulkner; former University of Texas System chancellor Mark Yudof; former Secretary of the Air Force Hans Mark; former National Security Agency director Bobby Ray Inman; Celebrity Chef, Tyson Cole;[19] Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey;[20] Cyclist Lance Armstrong,[21] and Texas politicians Beto O'Rourke,[22] Wendy Davis, James Talarico, Christi Craddick, Kel Seliger, and Carole Keeton Strayhorn among others.[23]

Notable alumni

Many notable alumni of the University of Texas are Tejas Braves. The Tejas Foundation was created in 1953 to establish communication between former and current members of the club. To this day, the alumni of Tejas continue to be involved with helping the club provide housing, encourage scholarship, and organize various events.[24]

Alumni of the Tejas Club include:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Office of the Dean of Students - Student Activities - Registered Student Organization Database". University of Texas. Archived from the original on 2013-11-06.
  2. ^ "Tejas Club - History".
  3. ^ Theta Nu Epsilon
  4. ^ "Rady, Strickland elected Student Government president, vice president in tight contest".
  5. ^ "UT organizations rally to rename Student Activity Center".
  6. ^ "A farewell from Student Government".
  7. ^ a b "History and Traditions". Texas Exes.
  8. ^ "Student Government Profile: Horacio Villarreal and Ugeo Williams".
  9. ^ "University Unions Board of Directors".
  10. ^ "Camron Goodman, Amie Jean named student body president, vice president by overwhelming majority of students – The Daily Texan".
  11. ^ "Tejas Foundation".
  12. ^ "Why is there a Tejas Club?". The UT History Corner.
  13. ^ "Freshmen adjust to new life as student-athletes – The Daily Texan".
  14. ^ @TejasClub (11 October 2019). "Thank you for joining us at Tejas Coffee! @TexasMBB @HookEmSmart @thrillbaker @242_jones @STG_Stretch" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ "Hundreds cram into Tejas House's front yard to see Tom Herman – The Daily Texan".
  16. ^ https://www.facebook.com/events/397452707873955/ [user-generated source]
  17. ^ "Students come together to hear from tennis player Andy Roddick at Tejas Coffee – The Daily Texan".
  18. ^ @gregfenves (18 April 2019). "Looking forward to meeting students..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Tyson Cole on Instagram: "Fantastic time at the distinguished speaker series at the Tejas Club!"".
  20. ^ https://www.facebook.com/events/160219108249888/ [user-generated source]
  21. ^ "Tejas Club hosts Lance Armstrong in weekly speaker series – The Daily Texan".
  22. ^ "Beto O'Rourke tells students about his life, plans for immigration reform – The Daily Texan".
  23. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-04-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ "Tejas Club | About". Archived from the original on 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  25. ^ "Texas Longhorns Athletics - Traditions: Hook 'em, Horns hand signal".
  26. ^ "If Robert Dedman, the richest man in golf, did so much to - 06.14.99 - SI Vault". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  27. ^ "Robert Dedman, 76, Dallas Philanthropist". The New York Times. 21 August 2002.
  28. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2013-04-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ^ Michael L Gillette
  30. ^ "Office of the General Faculty Home Page".
  31. ^ "Tarlton Law Library - First Year Societies- online exhibit".
  32. ^ W. Page Keeton
  33. ^ "Chief Judge Royce C Lamberth". Archived from the original on 2010-07-07.
  34. ^ "Judge Royce C. Lamberth/Tejas Scholarship".
  35. ^ Royce C. Lamberth
  36. ^ "UT College of Liberal Arts". 12 April 2016.
  37. ^ "To the Moon ‹ Life & Letters Magazine".
  38. ^ Austin Ligon
  39. ^ "Steve Poizner".
  40. ^ Steve Poizner
  41. ^ "Reavley, Thomas Morrow - Federal Judicial Center".
  42. ^ Thomas Morrow Reavley
  43. ^ Christopher Helman. "Rex Tillerson". Forbes.
  44. ^ "The Alcalde". November 2007.
  45. ^ Rex Tillerson
  46. ^ Dalton, Kyle. "Butler Pitch and Putt in Austin: Murder in the clubhouse, fun on the golf course". www.golftexas.com. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  47. ^ "TU EX-Student Leader Jailed In Slaying; Malcolm E. Wallace Charged in Death of Golf Professional". Valley Morning Star. Harlingen, Texas. October 24, 1951. p. 1.
  48. ^ Jones, Garth (August 14, 1985). "Federal Official's Death Certificate Ordered Changed". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. AP. p. 8A. Retrieved June 16, 2014.