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The University of Texas at Austin, often called UT or Texas, is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. The main campus is located less than a mile from the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Founded in 1883, the University is sometimes referred to as a "Public Ivy," and it is currently (as of Fall 2005) the fifth largest single-campus in the nation by enrollment (and had the largest enrollment in the country from 1997–2003), with upwards of 50,000 students and 20,000 faculty and staff.Enrollment & Essentials The University of Texas Office of Public Affairs. Accessed 1 December 2005.

The University also operates various auxiliary facilities located away from the main campus, most notably the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. Texas is a major center for academic research, annually exceeding $380 million in funding. In addition, the University's athletic programs are notable, as demonstrated by Texas's recognition as "America's Best Sports College" in a 2002 analysis performed by Sports Illustrated. In January 2006, Texas won the Division I-A national football championship by beating the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl.

The University of Texas at Austin has a network of over 450,000 living alumni, one of the largest of any American university.Campus Profile The University of Texas. Accessed 1 December 2005.

History

The first mention of a public university in Texas can be traced to the 1827 constitution for the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas. Although an article promised to establish public education in the arts and sciences, no action was ever taken by the Mexican government. After Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836, the Congress of Texas adopted the Constitution of the Republic, which included a provision to establish public education in republic, including two universities or colleges. On January 26, 1839, Congress agreed to eventually set aside fifty leagues of land towards the effort; in addition, forty acres in the new capital of Austin were reserved and designated "College Hill".

In 1845, Texas was annexed into the United States. The state legislature passed the Act of 1858, which set aside $100,000 in United States bonds towards construction. In addition, the legislature designated land, previously reserved for the encouragement of railroad construction, toward the universities' fifty leagues. However, Texas's secession from the Union and the American Civil War prevented further action on these plans.

After the war, the Texas Constitution of 1866 mandated that the state establish a university "at an early day." The passing of the Morrill Act in 1862 facilitated the creation of Texas A&M College, which would be established in 1876. During the construction of Texas A&M, the Texas Constitution of 1876 called for the creation of a "university of the first class," The University of Texas. It revoked the endowment of the railroad lands of the Act of 1858 but appropriated one million acres (4000 km²) in West Texas. In 1883, another two million were granted, with income from the sale of land and grazing rights going to The University of Texas and Texas A&M College.

In 1881, Austin was chosen as the site of the main university, and Galveston was designated the location of the medical department. On the original "College Hill," an official ceremony began construction on what is now referred to as the old Main Building in late 1882. The University opened its doors on September 15, 1883.

The old Victorian-Gothic Main Building served as the central point of the campus's forty acre site, and was used for nearly all purposes. However, by the 1930s, discussions rose about the need for new library space, and the Main Building was razed in 1934 over the objections of many students and faculty. The modern-day tower and Main Building were constructed in its place.

Constitutional restrictions against funding building construction hampered expansion. However, the funds generated by oil discovered on University-owned grounds in 1923 were put towards its general endowment fund. This extra revenue allowed the University to pay down its debt, and pass bond in 1931 and 1947, funding the necessary expansion after the enrollment spike following World War II. The University built 19 permanent structures between 1950 and 1965, when it was given the right of eminent domain. With this power, the University purchased additional properties surrounding the original forty acres.

On August 1 1966, Charles Whitman, an architectural engineering major at the University, barricaded himself in the observation deck of the tower of the Main Building with a sniper rifle and various other weapons. In a 96-minute stand-off, Whitman killed 14 Austin residents and wounded many more. Following the incident, the observation deck was closed until 1968 and closed again in 1975 following a series of suicide jumps. In 1998, after the installation of security and safety measures, the observation deck reopened to the public.Tower Tours Schedule Fall 2005 The Texas Union. Accessed 1 December 2005.

Campus

Today, the University encompasses about 350 acres (1.4 km²) on its main campus adjacent to downtown Austin and about 850 acres (3.4 km²) overall, including the J.J. Pickle Research Campus in north Austin and other properties in Austin and throughout Texas.

One of the University's most visible features is the Main Building, including a 307-foot tower designed by Paul Philippe Cret.The Main Building The University of Texas. Accessed 1 December 2005. Completed in 1937, the Main Building is located in the middle of campus. The Tower usually appears illuminated in white light in the evening but is lit orange for various special occasions, including athletic victories and academic accomplishments, such as commencement. The Tower is darkened for solemn occasions.University approves new policy for lighting UT Tower On Campus. Accessed 1 December 2005. At the top of the Tower is a carillon of 56 bells, the largest in Texas. Songs are played on weekdays by resident carillonneur Tom Anderson, in addition to the usual pealing of Westminster Quarters every quarter hour between 6 AM and 9 PM.

The University is home to seven museums and seventeen libraries, which hold over eight million volumes.Statistical Overview of the Library Collections The University of Texas Libraries. Accessed 1 December 2005. The holdings of the University's Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center include one of only twenty-one remaining complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible worldwide and the world's earliest-known photograph: View from the Window at Le Gras taken by Nicéphore Niépce.The Gutenberg Bible at the Ransom Center Harry Ransom Center. Accessed 1 December 2005. On April 29, 2006, the Blanton Museum of Art opened. The 155,000 square foot (14,000 m²) museum hosts approximately 17,000 works from Europe, the United States, and Latin America.

The University also contains an extensive underground tunnel system that links many of the buildings.The Secret Tunnels Under UT Better Than Your Boyfriend. The tunnel system is restricted to the public and is guarded by silent alarms. The tunnels are used for communications and utility service.

The University operates a 1.1 megawatt nuclear reactor at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. The University's first reactor went critical, at Taylor Hall on the main campus, in August 1963 at 10 kW using fuel loaned from the U.S. Government. This reactor was upgraded to 250 kW in 1968.Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program. Accessed 10 February 2006. In the late 1980s, the University began work on the reactor for the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab at the Pickle Campus. This reactor went critical in 1992, despite local news reports on its safety.Collier, Bill. UT reactor draws safety questions. Austin American-Statesman. December 15, 1989.

The University continues to expand facilities on the campus. In February 2006, the Board of Regents voted to update and expand the football stadium. On March 2, 2006, the student body passed a referendum to build a new Student Activities Center next to Gregory Gym on the east side of campus, pending final approval by the Board of Regents. According to The Daily Texan, the project is estimated to cost $51 million and is set to open between fall 2010 and fall 2012. Funding will primarily come from students, raising tuition by a maximum of $65 per semester.Terrell, Abby. Student Activities Center referendum approved The Daily Texan March 2, 2006. Accessed March 2, 2006.

Other notable facilities of the University include:

The University operates a public radio station, KUT, which provides local FM broadcasts as well as live streaming audio over the Internet.

The University of Texas System bid to manage — starting with an offer in 2004 — the Los Alamos National Laboratory, but lost to the University of California System.

Academic profile

The University contains 16 colleges and academic units, listed with their founding date:Colleges and Academic Units The University of Texas. Accessed 1 December 2005.

More than 100 undergraduate and 170 graduate degree plans are offered. In the 2003-2004 academic year, the University awarded a total of 13,065 degrees. Bachelor's degrees comprised 68.6% of this total, master's degrees 21.7%, doctoral degrees 5.2%, and other professional degrees 4.5%.Statistical Handbook 2003-2004, General Analysis - Students The University of Texas Office of Institutional Research. Accessed 1 December 2005.

Rankings

US News and World Report now consistently ranks Texas as the best public university in the state. In its 2006 rankings, Texas places 17th among all public research universities in the U.S.America's Best Colleges: 2006 US News and World Report. Accessed 1 December 2005. The Times Higher Education Supplement listed the University as 15th out of the top 200 universities globally.UT Austin wins 15th place in world list of 200 best universities The University of Texas Office of Public Affairs. Accessed December 10, 2005. Additionally, Texas was ranked as the 24th best university in the country and 36th best in the world by The Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.Top 500 World Universities, retrieved July 7, 2006

Faculty and research

As of 2004, the University employs 2,271 faculty members. Approximately 51.1% are tenured, while an additional 17.8% are tenure track. The University's faculty includes winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Technology, and numerous other awards. Over 1,000 faculty positions are endowed by private funds. Since 1984, more than forty $1 million-endowed chairs have been created at The University of Texas to recruit distinguished faculty and facilitate research in the sciences and engineering.

The University exceeds $380 million in annual research funding, and its facilities are home to more than 90 research units. The University has earned more than 400 patents since its founding. In 2005, Texas secured $417 million in awards and grants, a new university record. In addition, Texas earned $5 million in licensing revenue and capped a six-year funding increase of 48%. The University has also reached out to establish partnerships with other facilities, including the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, the University of Texas Health Science Center, the Johnson Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the International Center for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials.Report on Research 2005 The University of Texas Office of the VP for Research. Accessed December 2, 2005.

In addition to research in traditional fields, scientists are pushing forward in several new, interdisciplinary areas, including nanotechnology and materials engineering for next-generation semiconductors. In addition, Texas is advancing high performance computing through the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), which supports over 600 projects in the natural sciences, engineering, and business.

The University's library system ranks sixth among academic libraries in the nation with 7.5 million volumes.Nation's Largest Libraries by Volumes Held LibrarySpot. Accessed December 23, 2005. The main campus library is the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Endowment

The University receives income from an endowment known as the Permanent University Fund (PUF), with $11.6 billion (fourth-largest in the United States) in assets as of November 2005, of which 30 percent is dedicated to the UniversityAs required by the Texas Constitutionthe UT System gets two-thirds of the Available University Fund, the annual distribution of PUF income. A regental policyminimum amount of AUF income that can be distributed to UT Austin under current policies. The Regents, however, can and do decide to allocate additional amounts to UT Austin. Also, the majority of the UT System share of the AUF is used for debt service of UT System bonds, some of which were issued for the benefit of UT Austin[http://www.utsystem.edu/CONT/REPORTS/LARs/AUFLAR-102704.pdf" target="_blank" >*. One should note that the Regents are free to change the 45 percent minimum of the UT System share going to UT Austin at any time, although doing so might be difficult politically.. Proceeds from lands appropriated in 1839 and 1876, as well as oil monies, comprise the majority of this fund. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas's two university systems, The University of Texas System and Texas A&M University System; today, however, its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the universities' annual budgets. This has challenged the universities to increase sponsored research and private donations. Privately funded endowments contribute over $2 billion to the University's total endowment value.

Student life

The University enrolls 37,377 undergraduate, 11,533 graduate and 1,467 law students, coming from all 254 Texas counties. In addition, students come to the University from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries, most notably, the Republic of Korea, followed by India, the People's Republic of China, Mexico and Taiwan.2004-2005 Statistical Handbook, Degrees Conferred The University of Texas Office of Institutional Research. Accessed 1 December 2005. Entering undergraduates in the fall of 2004 scored an average of 1230 out of 1600 on the SAT.

Housing

The campus is currently home to thirteen dormitories, with a fourteenth under construction and slated for opening in spring 2007. On-campus housing can hold more than 6,700 students. Jester Center is the largest dormitory with its capacity of 2,945.Residence Halls at a Glance The University of Texas Division of Housing and Food. Accessed December 2, 2005. Academic enrollment exceeds the capacity of on-campus housing; as a result, most students must live in private dormitories, housing cooperatives, apartments, or with Greek organizations and other off-campus residences.

Student organizations

The University recognizes over 1000 registered student organizations.About Student Activities and Leadership Development The University of Texas Office of the Dean of Students. Accessed December 2, 2005. In addition, the University supports three official student governance organizations, which represent student interests to faculty, administrators, and the Texas Legislature. Student Government represents student interests in general, the Senate of College Councils represents students in academic affairs and coordinates the college councils, and the Graduate Student Assembly represents graduate student interests.

Greek organizations

The Office of the Dean of Students' Greek Life and Education section administers more than 50 Greek organizations, and about 9% of men and 12% of women in the undergraduate class choose to join one of these groups. Other registered student organizations also name themselves with Greek letters, including the founding chapters of Beta Upsilon Chi, a national Christian fraternity, and Sigma Phi Lambda, a national Christian sorority.

School spirit

Student media and film

Students also independently produce the following:

The growing independent film community in Austin has increased the reputation of the Radio-Television-Film (RTF) program as a film school. The department has capitalized on this recent growth, and has begun a private production company, Burnt Orange Productions, seeking to use the talents of upper-division and graduate RTF students in shooting independent films for distribution.

Athletics

The University of Texas offers a wide variety of varsity and intramural sports programs. Due to the breadth of sports offered and the quality of the programs, Texas was selected as "America's Best Sports College" in a 2002 analysis performed by Sports Illustrated.America's Best Sports Colleges Sports Illustrated. October 7, 2002.

Varsity sports

Men's and women's athletics teams at the University are nicknamed the Longhorns. A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, Texas now competes in the Big 12 Conference (South Division) of the NCAA's Division I-A.

The University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse. The team experienced its greatest success under coach Darrell Royal, winning three National Championships in 1963, 1969, and 1970, and winning a fourth title under head coach Mack Brown in 2005 after the 41-38 defeat of previously undefeated (and top-ranked) USC in the Rose Bowl.

In recent years, the men's basketball team has gained prominence, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Final Four in 2003, the Sweet Sixteen in 2004 and the Elite Eight in 2006.

The University's baseball team is considered one of the best in the nation with more trips to the College World Series than any other school, with wins in 1949, 1950, 1970, 1983, 2002 and 2005.

Rivalries

The University's major rival in almost every sport is generally considered to be Texas A&M University.Sports Illustrated's 50th Anniversary: Texas Sports Illustrated poll (conducted by Harris Interactive) shows 56% of respondents picked Texas vs Texas A&M as the biggest rivalry, followed by Texas vs Oklahoma at 15%, and the Cowboys vs Texans at 7%. The two schools have acknowledged the importance of this rivalry by creating the Lone Star Showdown series, which encompasses all sports where both schools field a varsity team. The football game played between the two schools is the third longest-running rivalry in the nation and is the longest-running rivalry for both schools. The game is played annually and in recent years has been played on the day following Thanksgiving.

Many fans and observers, however, would argue that the Longhorns' biggest rival in football is the University of Oklahoma.The Season Total Jibbly. November 22, 2005. The football game between Texas and Oklahoma is known as the Red River Shootout and is held annually in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl. This longstanding rivalry pits the populations of Texas and Oklahoma against one another in a bitter competition over state pride and bragging rights.

Many other schools also consider Texas among their biggest rivals.Halliburton, Suzanne. Red River Rivalry - Texas 45, Oklahoma 12 Austin American-Statesman. October 9, 2005. Berlin, Stephanie. Razorback country still has disdain for a Texas team focused on others The Daily Texan. September 10, 2004.

Facilities

Major sporting facilities and their main use include:

In addition, the University has numerous practice, training and intramural facilities.

Notable people

The University has a base of more than 450,000 living alumni. With strong academic programs in the arts, media, business, law, and public policy, as well as a successful athletics program, The University of Texas has seen many now notable persons pass through its halls.

See also

References

External links

Association of American Universities | Austin, Texas | Big 12 Conference | Educational institutions established in 1883 | Film schools | Journalism schools | Public universities | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools | Space-grant universities | Universities and colleges in Texas | University of Texas at Austin | University of Texas System

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