From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Texas A&M University–Kingsville (formerly
Texas A&I University) is a U.S. national
university with a multicultural student body that is 62 percent
Hispanic and includes students from 35 states and 43 foreign
countries. The university has nationally recognized programs in engineering, agriculture, wildlife, music, and the sciences and is known for developing the
nation's first doctoral degree in bilingual education. Founded in
1925 as South Texas State Teachers College, the university's name
change in 1929 to Texas College of Arts and Industries (A&I)
signaled the broadening of its mission. A 1967 name change to Texas
A&I University marked another transition. The university became
a member of the Texas A&M University
System in 1989 and changed names in September 1993.
Academics
Texas A&M–Kingsville has 56 undergraduate degree programs,
61 master's programs and six doctoral degrees in the
Colleges of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences, Arts
and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Engineering and
Graduate Studies.[1] The
university features the region's only programs in engineering, social sciences
and agriculture.
With state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, the university's
545 acres (2.21 km2) teaching farm gives
agriculture students hands-on farming and ranching experience.
A&M–Kingsville's bilingual education program,
offering degrees at the master's and doctoral levels, was the first
of its kind in the country and continues to be one of the
strongest.[2]
Undergraduates in nearly all disciplines have an opportunity to
participate in research projects.
Rankings
Texas A&M–Kingsville is ranked in the Top 100 national
universities by The Washington Monthly. The
university consistently ranks among the country's top 10 producers
of Hispanic engineers and
has the only accredited program in natural gas engineering in the United States. The
Texas Legislature approved and funded the creation and construction
of the Texas A&M Health Science Center Irma Lerma Rangel
College of Pharmacy, the first professional school of any kind at
any university south of San Antonio, which opened in the fall of
2006. In addition, the university offers the only professional
degree in ranch management in the United States.
The Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern
California recently identified Texas A&M University-Kingsville as one
of the top 25 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in America. The
school is recognized as being "potential exemplar, or model, of
effective practices for increasing the number of Latina and Latino
bachelor’s degree holders in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics -- known by the acronym STEM." [3]
In addition, the school has been ranked by US News and World
Reports as offering some of the most affordable quality degrees
from an accredited public university in the fields of engineering,
agriculture, science and education. [4]
Research
The Natural Toxins Research Center at Texas
A&M–Kingsville(NTRC) boasts the largest collection of venomous snakes
in the country and attracts researchers from around the world to
its one-of-a-kind serpentarium. For over three decades, its
mission has been to provide global research, training and resources
that will lead to the discovery of medically important toxins found in snake venoms. They
also provide snake venoms, venom fractions
and tissue for biomedical research.
Texas A&M–Kingsville's Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research
Institute and its Citrus Center both have international
reputations, attracting scholars and research projects from around
the world.
The Welhausen Water Resources Center, through its membership in
the International Arid Lands Consortium, is playing a role in the
Middle East with its
expertise in water conservation and development. The newly founded
South Texas Environmental Institute plans to bring regional
entities together to solve environmental questions through
research.
The South Texas
Archives and Special Collections, a division of the James C.
Jernigan Library is located on the campus. It hosts one of the
largest archival collection in Texas, devoted almost exclusively to the history
of South Texas. The South Texas Archives is a state depository that
contains the official records from many local towns, cities,
special districts, courts and other regional agencies. In addition,
the Archives hosts large photograph collections, thousands of
written and oral histories of the region, as well as the
collections of many local and state legislators, such as Carlos
Truan, Irma Rangel
and J.T. Canales.
Student
Life
Residence
Life
The campus is home to several dormitory buildings. The
university recently completed a new residence hall with 600 beds in
a suite-style environment.[5] In
addition, the private Javelina Station apartments near campus offer
apartment-style living specifically geared towards college
students.
The Memorial Student Union Building (commonly called the MSUB or
SUB) is often referred to as the "living room of campus." [6] It is
home to the Financial Aid Department, the Office of Student
Activities, the Dean of Students, several ballrooms and meeting
rooms. The building also houses a large cafeteria, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and Sodexo-operated restaurant
counters providing hot and deli submarine sandwiches, smoothies and coffee/cappuccino. The building
also hosts a large university bookstore, operated by Barnes and Noble. The Memorial Student
Union Building also accommodates a large game room with a dozen
pool tables, ping pong tables, a computer and study hall
section, several large flat screen televisions, and a video arcade
room.
The university is currently building a new Student Recreation
Center. The new 24-hour center will be approximately
36,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) and contain two
indoor multi-purpose gymnasiums that can be used for basketball,
soccer, and volleyball. It will also contain 5,600 sq ft
(520 m2) square feet for a new cardio fitness and
weight room with an elevated track. It is estimated to be completed
in January 2010. [7]
The Steinke Physical Education Center (SPEC) is home to the
university's Department of Kinesiology. The multistory complex also
houses various recreational concourses that provide many activities
for students, faculty and staff throughout the semester. Among
these are a bowling alley, racquetball courts, an Olympic sized
swimming pool, a fitness center and large locker rooms.
The school has many activities available to students and
residents throughout the year. The Office of Resident's Life and
the Office of Student Activities sponsor many activities throughout
the year, including Hoggie Days (a student orientation program),
fall and spring festivals, picnics, dorm activities. The Office of
Student Activities also hosts free weekend movie events in the
Peacock Auditorium, lawn and drive-in movie events, recreational sports,
Family Weekend events, the Homecoming Bonfire and several other
traditional school spirit or entertainment activities throughout
the year.
Student
Organizations
The university hosts a number of student organizations,
including a number of Greek-letter academic honor societies,
academic and professional societies, political clubs, religious
student organizations and many others. There are approximately 105
vibrant student organizations at Texas A&M
University–Kingsville. They are divided into categories: academic,
community service, honor societies, faith-based, spirit &
tradition, cultural/international, military, sports, Greek,
performing & visual arts, social & political issues,
student government, student media, health & recreation,
programming and special interest. [8]
Greek
Life
The university is home to chapters or colonies of several Greek
fraternities and sororities, including:
Fraternities:
Sigma
Lambda Beta
Sigma Chi
Lambda Chi
Alpha
Omega Delta
Phi
Omega Delta
Sigma
Sororities:
Alpha
Sigma Alpha
Delta Phi
Epsilon
Alpha Kappa
Alpha
Kappa Delta
Chi
Theta Phi
Alpha
Athletics
Texas A&M–Kingsville is a member of the Lone Star
Conference. The university has seen much success in athletics,
winning several conference titles, most recently in baseball.[9] The
perennial success in football[10] led
some to dub the school as a "football factory" with 7 National
Championships: 1979, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1970, 1969, 1959 and 34
Conference Championships: 1931, 1932, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1951, 1952,
1959, 1960, 1962, 1967-70, 1974-77, 1979, 1985, 1987-89, 1992-97,
2001-04, 2009.
The university offers 5 men's sports and 5 women's sports.
Facilities include Javelina Stadium for football; the Gil
H. Steinke Physical Education Center for volleyball and men's and women's basketball;
Nolan Ryan Field for baseball; and Vernie & Blanche Hubert
Field for softball.
Notable
alumni
- Joe Ernst, United States Army Brigadier
General
- Ramon H. Dovalina, retired president of Laredo Community College in Laredo,
1995-2007
- Jeremy Dugosh, Ph.D., American Board of
Internal Medicine, Senior Editor
- Juan
Castillo NFL
Coach, Offensive Line Coach Philadelphia Eagles
- Roberto
Garza, NFL lineman for the Chicago Bears
- Darrell
Green, NFL Hall of Famer, retired cornerback
- Al Harris, NFL
Cornerback for the Green Bay Packers
- Jim Hill, former NFL
player for the Green Bay Packers and San Diego
Chargers, Sports anchor at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles
- John Lauer, former CEO of B.F. Goodrich
- Eva Longoria, actress and model
- Kimberly A. Scott, actress
- Jermane
Mayberry, NFL Guard for the New Orleans Saints
- John Randle,
retired NFL defensive
tackle
- Richard
Ritchie, College Football Hall of
Famer, Quarterback. Attorney at Law.
- Ricardo
Sanchez, U.S. Army Lt. General
- Jackie Stephenson, U.S. Army Brigadier General
- Bill Stevens, retired Exxon
USA CEO
- Gil Steinke, NFL
defensive back Philadelphia Eagles. Longtime coach
of the Javelinas. Texas Sports Hall of
Fame.
- Gene Upshaw, NFL
Hall of Famer, former Executive Director of the National
Football League Players Association
- Dwayne Nix,
College Football Hall of Famer
- Michael Boyd,
Emmy Award-winning
costume designer for film and television
- Johnny
Bailey, former NFL running back
- James
Crumley, crime novelist, author of The Last Great Kiss
and other works
- Randy Johnson (American
football), (June 17, 1944 – September 17, 2009) was an American
football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons
in their inaugural season of 1966. In 1974 he played with The Hawaiians of
the World Football League.
Campus
Texas A&M–Kingsville is located in Kingsville,
Texas, just 40 mi (64 km) southwest of Corpus
Christi, Texas and 120 mi (190 km) north of Mexico. Kingsville, with a
population of 25,000, is home to the headquarters of the famed King Ranch and Naval Air Station
Kingsville. Texas A&M–Kingsville has 1,601 acres
(6.48 km2) of land, including a 250-acre
(1.0 km2) main campus with 82 buildings.
Texas A&M–Kingsville also maintains an upper-level division
in south San
Antonio, a historically underserved area.[11] The
campus is currently called Texas A&M University–Kingsville
System Center-San Antonio, but in the future will become a separate
university, Texas A&M
University–San Antonio.[12]
Notes
External
links
Coordinates: 27°31′30″N 97°52′57″W / 27.5251°N
97.8825°W / 27.5251;
-97.8825