Texas Woman's University (historically the College of Industrial Arts and Texas State College for Women, commonly known as TWU) is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas and Houston. While male students are accepted into all programs, the school is better known as the largest state-supported university for women in the United States. TWU’s nursing doctoral program is the largest in the United States.
TWU is one of only four public universities in Texas not affiliated with any of Texas' public university systems.
History
Several Texas-based groups advocated for the creation of the school that would become Texas Woman's University. These groups included the Texas Press Women's Association, the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, the Grange and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Texas Woman's University was established in 1901 by an act of the Texas Legislature, and was originally named "Texas Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls of the State of Texas in the Arts and Sciences." It became the Girls Industrial College, in 1903 and conferred its first degrees in 1904. The college changed its name in 1905 to the College of Industrial Arts and Sciences (CIA) and offered programs in a variety of liberal arts, fine arts, and science programs.
The school underwent another name change in 1934 to the Texas State College for Women (TSCW) to reflect its growing reputation as a premiere institution of higher education for women in the state.
In 1950, TSCW became the first-nationally accredited nursing program in the state. The nursing program opened at the original Parkland Hospital in 1954. In 1956 TWU opened first building dedicated solely to the instruction of library sciences. In 1957, the school changed its name for the fourth time to Texas Woman's University. The original Houston Campus opened in 1960.
In 1972, it began accepting men into its health sciences graduate school. In 1994, the school opened all of its programs to qualified men. Landon Dickerson became the first male to be elected student body president of Texas Woman's University in 2014. Despite being a co-educational university, TWU is overwhelmingly female with approximately 90% of the student body identifying as such and continues to place a heavy emphasis on meeting the educational needs of women.
Campus
The University has five conventional residence halls. A record number of applicants is now requiring Student Life and the Department of University Housing to contract with nearby apartment complexes and hotels. The housing shortage creates student wait lists and financial aid complications. Private rooms typically are not available even if a student is willing to pay significantly higher rates. Students seeking exemption from the living on campus requirement have to fill out and return paperwork.
Academics
The school is presently divided into five colleges:
- College of Arts and Sciences encompasses the School for the Arts which supports programs in music, art, drama and dance and the School of Management, which confers business degrees including the M.B.A.. The bulk of the college is academic departments including English, Speech, and Foreign Languages, Psychology and Philosophy, History and Government, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, Sociology and Social Work, Women's Studies and other liberal arts programs awarding undergraduate degrees through the college.
- College of Professional Education encompasses Departments of Family Sciences, Reading and Teacher Education, and the School of Library & Information Studies.
- College of Health Sciences is supported at the Houston and Dallas campuses and includes the Schools of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. Programs in Health Care Administration and Nutrition are also included in this college.
- College of Nursing was established in 1954, and is the 5th oldest Doctoral program in Nursing in the United States. TWU’s College of Nursing is the largest in Texas and the 11th largest in the U.S. TWU’s nursing doctoral program is the largest in the world. The College of Nursing offers programs on the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral level. In addition to the generic Bachelor of Science program for students with no prior degree, there is a weekend program for students who already have a bachelor's degree; the school also has a Registered Nurse to Baccalaureate program (RN to BS) and a Registered Nurse to Master's Program (RN to MS). The school is very competitive with the cut off GPA frequently at 4.0. The College of Nursing has campuses in Houston and Dallas.
- Graduate School functions as a separate unit of the university. It was originally established in response to the increased demand for woman's graduate education. The Graduate School processes graduate admissions to the university and subsequent academic affairs, including degrees in a variety of liberal arts programs.
The Woman's Collection and Women's Studies
The second floor of Blagg-Huey Library houses "The Woman's Collection". Established in 1932 by the Library at the suggestion of then-president L.H. Hubbard to inspire the women students, the collection now has 42,000 books, 3,000 manuscripts, 19,000 photographs, and 2,000 periodicals.
Highlights of the Woman's Collection include the WASP Archival Collection which features one of the largest repositories of women in aviation in the world, housing the history of Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, the Whirly-Girls International Helicopter Pilots, Women Military Aviators, and others. Other major archives include the cookbook collection which showcases culinary arts from around the world and is one of the largest collections in the United States, and the University collection containing history of the university. The Woman's Collection is the official repository for thousands of organizations, agencies, and conferences in Texas and the southwest concerned with women's rights, agency, and status.
The Woman's Collection also contains information on the 1981 exhibit about Texas women's history. Originally produced by the Texas Foundation for Women's Resources, the exhibit is permanently housed at TWU.
Many well known women regularly visit Texas Woman's University. Sarah Weddington has lectured and/or taught courses since the early 1980s. United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and United States Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson have participated in leadership conferences encouraging people to become more aware of women and their leadership issues. Currently, Ret. Major General Mary Saunders, who graduated from TWU in 1970 and became the highest ranking African-American woman in the United States Air Force, serves as director of the university's Leadership Institute. Recent guest speakers to the Denton campus have included Gloria Steinem, Frances "Sissy" Farenthold, Maya Angelou, and Oprah Winfrey who visited the campus in 1998 and 2005, and Khloé Kardashian in 2012, amid controversy.
Hubbard Hall, the former central dining facility, now contains the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. This state-established exhibit honors Texas women who make significant public contributions to the state.
Texas Woman's University is unique among Texas higher education institutions. It requires all undergraduates regardless of their proposed/intended degree to take three hours of multicultural women's studies in order to graduate. At the graduate level it offers both a M.A. and PhD in women's studies. The Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies department makes excellent use of the library and other institutional resources, receiving full faculty encouragement throughout the university. The interim chair is Dr. Mark Kessler.
Attractions
TWU Art Collection
The University Art Collection supports through annual acquisitions the work of TWU students, alumni, faculty and staff. The result is a rich display of artwork that can be toured online or when visiting the TWU campus.
Little Chapel-in-the-Woods
Built in 1939 and dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods was named one of Texas’ most outstanding architectural achievements. University students designed and created the building’s artwork, including stained glass windows, lighting, woodwork and flooring. The windows depict scenes of women ministering to human needs including nursing, teaching, speech, literature, dance and music. The Chapel has seen many weddings. The TWU original bridal book contains thousands of names of couples who were married between the years 1939 and 1979 in the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods. The Bridal Book is on display at the Blagg-Huey Library.
Texas First Ladies Historic Costume Collection
This exhibit is housed in the Administration Conference Tower. Within the collection there are replicated versions and original dresses worn to the Governor's Inaugural Ball. Each dress has been loaned or donated by various sources to the University. Most dresses come from local Texas chapters of Daughters of the American Revolution or directly from the First Ladies themselves.
Golf course
A need for updated facilities and expanded campus space required the University to reassess maintaining their golf course. It did not meet regulations for NCAA competitive sports. Less than 3 percent of enrolled TWU students utilized the golf course. It was primarily used by the community. The University did not provide academic golf classes for students to enroll in which counted towards degree completion.
Chancellor Feyten convened a task force to study potential options. Both the University of North Texas and/or the City of Denton declined to co-operate the Golf Course.
The task force unanimously passed a resolution recommending the closing of the golf course Housing, academic facilities and/or walkways will be eventually phased in.
Athletics
TWU Pioneers have NCAA Division II programs in basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, and gymnastics. The Pioneers compete in the Lone Star Conference, but only in most women's sports; the gymnastics team competes in the Division I Midwest Independent Conference.
The TWU Gymnastics squad has won the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships with a record nine team championships since 1993, with the most recent championship in 2008. The team finished second overall in 2010, in addition to squad members winning four out of the five individual titles.
Student publications and media
The Lasso is a student-produced weekly newspaper currently housed in the Office of Student Life. The Lasso began in the Mass Communications program as a daily and switched to a weekly format in the 19990's. The Lasso moved from the School of Library and Information Studies to the Department of English, Speech and Foreign Languages in spring 2006. In summer 2011 the student-run newspaper moved to the Office of Student Life.
A yearbook, The Dadaelian, was published by the Mass Communications program until 1979. A 1986 attempt to reinstate yearbooks with The Pioneer failed. The Dadaelian is currently published on the Denton campus, this time as a literary journal. Students submit original short stories, artwork, photography and poetry.
Energy efficiency
In 2009 the university started a campaign towards greater energy efficiency. The university installed utiliVisor to reduce energy spent air conditioning their facilities. Texas Woman's University now monitors and reduces their energy consumption in real time.
Greek life
Fraternities
- Kappa Sigma
- Phi Beta Sigma
- Phi Iota Alpha
- Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Sororities
- Alpha Omicron Pi
- Alpha Gamma Delta
- Sigma Sigma Sigma
- Alpha Kappa Alpha
- Delta Sigma Theta
- Zeta Phi Beta
- Sigma Gamma Rho
- Sigma Lambda Gamma
- Sigma Lambda Alpha
- Sigma Alpha Iota
Notable alumni and academics
- Alumni
- Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash (M.S. 1979), a.k.a. Mrs. Anthrax, studied microbiology and went on to become a high-ranking Iraqi scientist. After surrendering herself in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, she was later deemed not a security threat and was released in 2005.
- Shirley Cothran Barrett (Ph.D.), served as Miss America in 1975.
- Donna Campbell (M.S.N), member of the Texas Senate and an emergency room physician from New Braunfels.
- Alma Dawson (PhD 1996), Russell B. Long Professor of Library and Information Science at Louisiana State University.
- Betty Heitman (Class of 1949), co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee from 1983 to 1987; distinguished TWU alumnus, 1980.
- Millie Hughes-Fulford (Ph.D. 1972), NASA astronaut who studied osteoporosis. She flew aboard STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS 1) in June 1991, the first Spacelab mission dedicated to biomedical studies. She was the first civilian scientist on a space mission.
- Jill Marie Jones (B.A. 1999), actress, most recognizable role as 'Toni Childs' for six seasons in Girlfriends.
- Margaret Virginia (Margo) Jones (B.A. 1932) and (M.A. 1933), pioneer in the American Resident Theater Movement and author of "Theatre-In-The-Round". In 1955 she directed the world premiere of "Inherit the Wind" by Lawrence and Lee in Dallas.
- Alia Moses, a.k.a. Alia M. Ludlum, (B.A. 1983), serves as District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
- Juan L. Maldonado (Ph.D. 1986), president of Laredo Community College since 2007.
- Elizabeth Ann Nalley (Ph.D. 1975), President of the American Chemical Society in (2006).
- Carly Patterson (B.S. 2014), won the 2004 Olympic gold medal in the women's gymnastics individual all-around, silver in individual balance beam, and silver in team competition.
- Louise Ritter (B.S. 1982), won the 1988 Olympic gold medal in the women's high jump.
- Lou Halsell Rodenberger (B.S. 1943 in journalism), scholar of Texas women authors, particularly Jane Gilmore Rushing.
- Joan Wall (M.M. 1969), mezzo-soprano and principal performer at the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and in Amsterdam, Boston, Philadelphia, Fort Worth and other US cities.
- Academics
- Mary Eleanor Brackenridge (1837â€"1924), Regent, Suffragist, and Community Organizer, as well as the namesake of the campus Mary Eleanor Brackenridge Student Union.
- Pauline Gracia Beery Mack (Dean, College of Household Arts and Sciences, 1952-1962), noted chemist and nutritionist.
- Carlotta Corpron (1901â€"1988), taught photography, design, and art history for over 30 years (1935â€"1968).
See also
- Guinn Hall
- Stark Hall
References
External links
- Official website
- Texas Woman's Athletics website
- Texas Woman's University on DentonWiki