History and Development
Texas A&M University, the state's first public institution
of higher education, opened for classes in 1876. It is now
one of the select few institutions in the nation to hold land
grant, sea grant and space grant designations. It is also one
of the few universities to host a presidential library. The
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1997
on a 90-acre tract of land on the west side of the campus.
The University owes its origin to the Morrill Act approved
by Congress on July 2, 1862. This act provided for donation
of public land to the states. The land was to be sold at auction,
and the proceeds were set aside in a perpetual fund. The act
directed that interest from this fund be used to support a
college whose "leading object shall be, without excluding
other scientific and classical studies, and including military
tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related
to agriculture and mechanic arts...in order to promote the
liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in
the several pursuits and professions in life."
By resolution of the Legislature of the State of Texas in
November 1866, Texas agreed to provide for a college under
the terms of the Morrill Act, but no such institution was organized
until the establishment of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas by the act of the Twelfth Texas Legislature
on April 17, 1871. The same act appropriated $75,000 for the
erection of buildings and bound the state to defray all expenses
of the college exceeding the annual interest from the endowment.
Proceeds from the sale of the 180,000 acres of land scrip received
under the Land Grant College Act were invested in $174,000
of gold frontier defense bonds to Texas, forming a perpetual
endowment for the institution. A commission created to locate
the institution accepted the offer of 2,416 acres of land from
the citizens of Brazos County in 1871, and instruction began
in 1876.
As the State of Texas grew, so did its land grant institution.
Texas A&M now has a physical plant valued at more than
$1 billion. The campus in College Station includes 5,200 acres
and is one of the largest campuses of any major institution
of higher education in the nation. The University also operates
branch campuses at Galveston and Doha, Qatar, with the latter
operated at no expense to the State of Texas. Additionally,
the University operates a study center at Santa Chiara, Italy,
and a facility in Mexico City.
In keeping with the diversified and expanded character of
the institution, the 58th Legislature of Texas, on August 23,
1963, changed the name of the Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Texas to Texas A&M University.
On September 17, 1971, the designation "sea grant college" was
assigned to Texas A&M University in recognition of its
achievements in oceanographic and marine resources development.
Texas A&M was one of the first four institutions nationwide
to achieve this distinction. Patterned after the century-old
land grant idea, sea grant colleges are federal-state partnerships
for furthering marine work through practical research, education
and advisory services. The designation clearly establishes
the University's leadership relative to marine affairs of the
state.
Texas A&M added a third special designation to its credentials
on August 31, 1989, when it was named a "space grant college." This
new designation, bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, came to the University based on its continuing
commitment to space research and its participation in the Texas
Space Grant Consortium, a group of 34 institutions that includes
universities, industrial organizations, non-profit organizations,
and government agencies within Texas under the leadership of
Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin
and the University of Houston.
In
addition to its traditional strengths in agriculture and
engineering,
Texas A&M has established
itself as a leader in technological areas such as space,
nuclear, computer, biotechnological, oceanographic and marine
resource fields. Emphasis is also placed on the arts and
sciences and business in order to continue to enhance its
prominent role in these fields.
A mandatory military component was a part of the land grant
designation until the 1950s, and the Corps of Cadets has played
an important part in the history and development of Texas A&M.
Even though membership in the Corps of Cadets became voluntary
in 1965, Texas A&M historically has produced more officers
than any other institution in the nation with the exception
of the service academies. The University is one of only three
institutions with a full-time corps of cadets including ROTC
programs leading to commissions in all branches of service--Army,
Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Texas A&M offers
a variety of programs in both undergraduate and graduate
studies through its academic colleges and schools--Agriculture
and Life Sciences, Architecture, The George Bush School of
Government and Public Service, Mays Business School, Education
and Human Development, Dwight Look College of Engineering,
Geosciences, Liberal Arts, Science, and Veterinary Medicine.
In addition, Texas A&M's extensive research efforts in
all fields, in conjunction with agricultural and engineering
experiment stations resulted in annual expenditures of approximately
$400 million and has been consistently ranked in the top
tier of research institutions by the National Science Foundation.
Classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Research I institution,
Texas A&M embraces its mission of the advancement of knowledge
and human achievement in all its dimensions. The research mission
is a key to advancing economic development in both public and
private sectors. Integration of research with teaching prepares
students to compete in a knowledge-based society and to continue
developing their own creativity, learning and skills beyond
graduation.
In 2001, Texas A&M University was admitted to the Association
of American Universities (AAU), the prestigious organization
founded in 1900, that restricts its ranks to the nation's premier
public and private institutions of higher learning. In 2004,
the Kappa of Texas Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was installed
at Texas A&M University. Founded in 1776 at the College
of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, Phi Beta Kappa
is the nation's oldest and largest academic honor society.
The mission of the society is to recognize and foster excellence
in the liberal arts and sciences. While most students are nominated
in their senior year, membership is also offered to a few juniors
and graduate students.
The University's fall
2003 enrollment was 46,436 on the College Station and Galveston
campuses, including 8,243 graduate students. Every state
in the nation and more than 100 foreign countries are represented
in the coeducational student body.
