Texas A&M University

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{{Infobox_University |name = Texas A&M University |image = Image:Texas AandM University seal.png |motto = N/A |established = 1876Template:Fn
(first public college in Texas) |type = Flagship State university |president= Dr. Robert M. Gates |city = College Station |state = Texas |country = USA |undergrad = 35,732 |postgrad = 8,192 |staff= 2,500+Template:Fn |free = $4.3 billion (Systemwide)Template:Fn |free_label = Endowment |campus = Suburban, 5,200 acresTemplate:Fn (21 km²) |mascot = Reveille. Teams referred to as the Aggies. |colors = Maroon and white |website= www.tamu.edu }}

Texas A&M University, often "Texas A&M", "A&M" or "TAMU" for short, is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. Texas A&M's triple designation as a Land-, Sea-, and Space-Grant institution reflects a broad range of research, with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.

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History

Image:Militarywalk.jpg The basis for funding for the college was established by the Morrill Act, passed by the US Congress in 1862, which provided for donation of public land (land grants) to the states. The land could then be sold at public auction to establish a permanent fund to support a college where the "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 mechanical arts...in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life." In 1871 the Texas legislature passed legislation to establish the college and provide appropriations for building the campus. The college opened for classes in 1876 as the "Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas". In 1963 the legislature changed the name to "Texas A&M University" to reflect the expanded roles and academic offerings of the university. Though A&M originally stood for "agricultural and mechanical," today these letters have no official meaning.

In addition to being designated as a "land grant college", Texas A&M earned the designation of "sea grant college" in 1971 in recognition of its oceanographic and marine research contributions. In 1989 it was also granted the title of "space grant college" by NASA, in recognition of its commitment to space research and participation in the "Texas Space Grant Consortium".

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Academics

Texas A&M's enrollment of 44,647 studentsTemplate:Fn study for degrees in 10 academic colleges, (currently making it the 8th largest university in the United States. Under the leadership of President Dr. Robert M. Gates, the university has initialized an aggressive financial focus on four areas of improvement that includes student diversity, faculty reinvestment, space allocation, and improving the undergraduate and graduate education experienceTemplate:Fn.

Texas A&M's ten colleges are: Mays Business School, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Architecture, College of Education and Human Development, Dwight Look College of Engineering, College of Geosciences, George Bush School of Government and Public Service, College of Liberal Arts, College of Science, and College of Veterinary Medicine

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Worldwide

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Rankings

Texas A&M University is currently ranked 60th in the United States and tied for 21st among public universitiesTemplate:Fn. It is ranked as the 25th "Best Value for a Public School" in the nation (in the "In-State" category), and the best value in the state of Texas[1]

The Agricultural Engineering program is ranked 1st in the nation. The Dwight Look College of Engineering is tied for 14th nationally. Individual Engineering Department rankings include Aerospace, 11; Chemical, 19; Civil, 10; Computer Engineering, 21; Electrical, 19; Industrial, 7; and Mechanical, 17Template:Fn, and Petroleum, 1.

Mays Business School is in the top 10 public business schools for value for money and return on investment. The accounting program is 7th for undergraduates and 8th for graduatates in the Public Accounting Report. The business school's faculty is ranked 8th U.S. public in terms of research productivity.

The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine is consistently ranked in the top 5 vet schools in the country.Template:Fn.

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Campus

Image:TAMUcampus.jpg Texas A&M University is one of the largest universities by area (with 5,200 acresTemplate:Fn (21 km²) in all) in the nation (behind the United States Air Force Academy and Stanford University, among others and the largest at Berry College) with approximately 200 buildings and a value of over $1 billion. The Texas A&M campus is home to the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

The campus is bisected by a set of railroad tracks. The portion of the campus east of the railroad tracks is known as the Main Campus, while the portion of the campus west of the railroad tracks is known as West Campus. Also, the area west of White Creek is known as Research Park.

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Aggieland

Texas A&M University's Main Campus is located in College Station, Texas, also known as Aggieland. The metropolitan area of Bryan-College Station, Texas is located in Brazos County, Texas, population 152,415 (Census 2000), in East Texas. The city is centrally located, approximately equidistant from three of the 10 largest cities in the United States. It is 95 miles north of Houston, 166 miles northeast of San Antonio and 169 miles south of Dallas. It is 104 miles east of Austin, the state capital of Texas. Seventy five percent of the Texas and Louisiana populations (13.1 million people) live within 3.5 driving hours of College Station.

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Notable buildings

Of the over 200 buildings on Texas A&M University Campus some of the most recognized include the Academic Building, the Albritton Bell Tower, the Administration Building, Kyle Field, the Memorial Student Center (MSC) and recently the George Bush Presidential Library.

Image:Academic Buildind and Sul Ross.jpg

  • Academic Building
    • One of the most recognized images of Texas A&M University, the Academic Building stands at the heart of the campus. Completed in 1914, it stands on the site of Old Main, the first campus building that burned in 1912. Of note is its copper dome, which was once polished, but since the polished dome's glare caused too great of danger for pilots landing at nearby Easterwood Airport, the university stopped polishing it. Now the dome has become green, much like the Statue of Liberty is presently. Academic Plaza, which is in front of the Academic Building, is the site of a wide range of campus events, including Silver Taps.
  • Albritton Bell Tower
    • Donated to Texas A&M University and dedicated on October 6, 1984 by Martha and Ford D. Albritton, the Albritton Tower is 138 feet tall and contains Westminster chimes which ring every quarter hour. There are 49 carillon bells, the largest of which weighs more than six thousand pounds, that can be programmed to play music such as the "Spirit of Aggieland". The bells also play hymns during Silver Taps, a memorial service for Aggies who have died during the past month. The clock faces of Albritton Tower bear the Roman numeral IIII rather than IV because Mr. Albritton believed that IV bore too much resemblance to "t.u.", Texas A&M's rival, although as four o'clock has been represented this way by clockmakers for centuries it is not impossible that Mr. Albritton was speaking tongue-in-cheek.Template:Fact
  • Easterwood Airport
  • George Bush Presidential Library
    • Operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the tenth Presidential Library in the United States. Former President George Bush remains actively involved with both the Bush Library and the nearby George Bush School of Government and Public Service, frequently visiting the campus and participating in special events.

Image:Admin Building1.jpg

  • Jack K. Williams Administration Building
    • For many years home to all of Texas A&M's administrative offices, the Jack K. Williams Administration Building opened its doors in 1932 and continues to house several Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University System offices and agencies. Designed by Professor C.S.P. Vosper and built by Campus Architect F.E. Giesecke, the monumental classical structure's features include intricate Ionic columns, polished brass handrails along its marble staircases and stained-glass windows.
  • Memorial Student Center (MSC)
    • For more than 50 years, the Memorial Student Center has been a living memorial, a living room, and a living tradition at Texas A&M University. Because the building and grounds are a memorial, those entering the MSC are asked to remove their hats, and walking on the grass outside is proscribed.
  • Laboratories
    • Laboratories on the Texas A&M University campus include the Energy Systems Laboratory, Fiber Optic Lab, Hypermedia Research Lab, Materials and Structures Testing Lab, Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, Turbomachinery Laboratory and the Wave Propagation and Damping Laboratory. Texas A&M was involved in a bid to operate the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy but dropped its bid in December 2004. Texas A&M is the first academic institution to clone six different species: cattle, a boer goat, pigs, a cat, a deer and a horseTemplate:Fn.
  • Texas A&M Libraries
    • Libraries on campus include the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the Cushing Memorial Library, the Medical Sciences Library, the Policy Sciences & Economics Library, Sterling C. Evans Library, West Campus Library and the Biological Collections Library.
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Notable Athletic Buildings

Image:Kyle Field.jpg

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Student Life

Students are encouraged to become involved on campus from the moment they attend New Student Conferences, Fish Camp, and Gig'Em Week, Aggieland's official week of welcome. Events such as MSC Open House are also held at the beginning of the year for students to find organizations that interest them. Texas A&M has over 800 student organizations. Texas A&M is host to the largest ROTC program in the United States with the Texas A&M University Corps of CadetsTemplate:Fn. The term "The Other Education" is often used to describe the high level of student involvement in extra-curricular activities on campus.Template:Fn

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Endowment

Texas A&M University System endowment totals approximately $4.2 billion; 10th largest in the nation and third among public university systems. The University is a minority stakeholder in an endowment known as the Permanent University Fund. The PUF principal in the fall 2000 was approximately $10 billion, second only to Harvard's endowment. The PUF primarily serves the University of Texas System with 2/3rds of its proceeds. The PUF also funds the Texas A&M University System with the remaining third. Other Texas public universities outside these two systems, notably University of Houston and Texas Tech University, are prohibited by law from sharing in the income from this endowment. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas A&M, today its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the university's annual budget. This has challenged the university to increase sponsored research and private donations.

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Traditions

The oldest public college in the state, Texas A&M University has many time-honored traditions, many of which are discussed in full detail at traditions of Texas A&M University.

Texas A&M has also developed a source of self-deprecation known as the "Aggie Joke". The jokes, often the same as the "dumb blonde" jokes but replacing the word "blonde" with "Aggie," feature the Aggie as a dimwit. The Aggies, however, have also developed "comeback" jokes, which feature the Aggie as the intelligent one, usually at the expense of a "t-Sip" (one from the University of Texas at Austin, their archrival).

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Athletics

Image:TxA-M.PNG A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, Texas A&M now competes in the Big 12 Conference (South Division) of the NCAA's Division I-A. The sports teams are known as the Aggies and the colors are maroon and white.

The University's major rival is the University of Texas, known to Aggies as "texas university" or simply "t.u.". In 2004, sporting events between Texas A&M and the University of Texas became known as the "Lone Star Showdown". The most-watched part of this rivalry is the annual football game held on the day after Thanksgiving.

The football team is currently coached by Dennis Franchione. The basketball team is currently coached by Billy Gillispie.

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Titles

Some of the titles won by Aggie athletic teams include:

  • National titles
    • Football
      • 1939
    • Softball
      • 1982 (AIAW), 1983 (NCAA), 1987 (NCAA)
  • Conference titles
    • Big 12 Conference
      • Football
        • 1998
      • Baseball
        • 1998, 1999 (College World Series)
      • Men's Outdoor Track & Field
        • 2001
      • Tennis
        • 2000, 2001
      • Women's Tennis
        • 2004
      • Women's Golf
        • 1998, 2006
      • Women's Soccer
        • 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005
    • Southwest Conference
      • Football
        • 1917, 1919, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1956, 1967, 1975, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993
      • Men's Basketball
        • 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1950, 1963, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1985
      • Baseball
        • 1931, 1934, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1966, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1989, 1993
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Student publications and media

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Notable people

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External links

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Notes

Template:Texas A&M Colleges Template:Texas A&M University System Template:Big 12 Conferenceth:มหาวิทยาลัยเทกซัสเอแอนด์เอ็ม

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