Texas Woman's University

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Texas Woman's University (historically the College of Industrial Arts and Texas State College for Women) is a university in Denton, Texas with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas. In addition to being the largest state-supported university for women in the United States, TWU’s College of Nursing is the largest in Texas and the fifth-largest in the U.S. TWU’s nursing doctoral program is the largest in the country.

[edit] History

Texas Woman's University was originally established in 1901 by an act of the Texas Legislature as the Girls Industrial College, opening its doors in 1903 and conferring 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, and in 1956 pioneered the first building dedicated to the instruction of library sciences. In 1957, the school changed its name for the fourth and final time to Texas Woman's University and began accepting men into its graduate school that same year. In 1994, the school opened all of its programs to qualified men and has since grown into a diverse student population with the third most diverse makeup in the state and 21st most diverse in the nation, according to a 2008 U.S. News and World Report survey.

Today, Texas Woman's University is the largest public university primarily for women in the United States with over 10,000 women enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate schools.

TWU's academic and social environment empowers students by inspiring intellectual curiosity and lifelong learning, embracing scholarship and research, developing leadership and personal responsibility, and promoting diversity and respect for all individuals.

TWU educates students to succeed as they pursue careers, research or graduate study in the liberal arts and sciences and health, education, and business professions. By setting high expectations and high ideals, TWU prepares its graduates to lead personally and professionally fulfilling lives.

[edit] Academics

The school is presently divided into seven colleges:

1. College of Arts and Sciences encompasses the School for the Arts which supports programs in music, art and dance and The School of Management which confers business degrees including the M.B.A.. Academic departments ncluding English, Speech, and Foreign Languages, Psychology and Philosophy, History and Government, Chemistry and Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, Sociology and Social Work, and other liberal arts programs award their undergraduate degrees through this college.
2. College of Professional Education encomapsses Departments of Family Sciences, Reading and Teacher Education, and the School of Library & Information Studies.
3. College of Health Sciences is supported at the Houston and Dallas campuses and includes the Schools of Occupational Therapy and The School of Physical Therapy. Programs in Health Care Administration and Nutrition are included in this college.
4. College of Nursing is one of the largest in the nation, and is the 5th oldest Doctoral program in Nursing in the United States. The college offers programs on the Baccalaureate, Masters, and Doctoral level. It has campuses in Houston and Dallas. See Nursing.
5. Graduate School functions as a separate unit of the university. It was originally established in response to the increased demand for women'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.
6. School of the Arts integrates all of TWU's fine arts (dance, drama, music, art, and theater) into an integrative pedagogy. It promotes holistic and balanced development of students in the pursuit of self-expression.
7. School of Management is the newest academic division at the university. In 2000 the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board authorized the creation of this unit from the school's business and economics department. The School of Management offers undergraduate courses and degrees, but emphasizes the MBA with emphasis on women and/or minority business ventures. A joint Health Care Administration degree is available through the University's Parkland campus. Dr. Paula Ann Hughes is the director of the school. See Management.

[edit] 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 the history of Women Airforce Service Pilots between 1942 and 1944, the Cookbook collection which showcases culinary arts from around the world, 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, and others.

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 offers a M.A. in Women's studies. This program makes excellent use of the library and other institutional resources, receiving full encouragement from the university. The program director is Claire L. Sahlin.

[edit] TWU 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 thousand 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 exibit 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.

TWU Golf Course and Fitness and Recreation Facilities TWU has the only public golf course in Denton. The state of the art Fitness and Recreation center is also available to the public. Facilities include indoor and outdoor pools, a rock wall, tennis courts, handball courts, and exercise equipment.

[edit] Athletics

The TWU school colors are maroon and white (Source: TWU athletic department web site).

TWU (mascot: the Pioneers) have NCAA Division II programs in basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, and gymnastics. The Pioneers compete in the Lone Star Conference, but only in female sports.

[edit] Student publications and media

The Lasso is a student-produced weekly newspaper which was produced by the Mass Communications program and other interested students. Initially a daily, it switched to a weekly format in the 1990s. The Lasso moved from the School of Library and Information Studies to the Department of English, Speech and Foreign Languages in Spring 2006.

A yearbook, The Dadaelian, was published by the Mass Communications program until 1979. The declining levels of traditional college students was the factor in the book's discontinuation. Because they were the most likely group to be involved with and purchase the books, it was difficult to justify production. A 1986 attempt to reinstate yearbooks with The Pioneer failed.

[edit] Greek Life

[edit] Fraternities

• Phi Iota beta
• Sigma Alpha Iota (Music Fraternity For Women)

[edit] Sororities

• Alpha Omicron Pi 1984
• Alpha Gamma Delta 1985
• Sigma Sigma Sigma
• Alpha Kappa Alpha
• Delta Sigma Theta
• Zeta Phi Beta
• Sigma Gamma Rho
• Alpha Theta Omega
• Sigma Lambda Alpha

[edit] Notable alumni

• Caro Crawford Brown (B.A. 1925) First woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.

• Margaret Virginia (Margo) Jones (B.A. 1932) and (M.A. 1933) A Pioneer in the American Resident Theater Movement and author of "Theatre-In-The-Round". In 1955 she directs the world premiere of "Inherit the Wind" by Lawrence and Lee in Dallas, TX.

• Kaye Stripling (B.S. 1962) Became superintendent of HISD when Rod Paige was nominated to serve as United States Secretary of Education.

• 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.

• Elizabeth Ann Nalley (Ph.D. 1975) President of the American Chemical Society (2006)

• 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.

• Louise Ritter (B.S. 1982) Won the 1988 Olympic gold medal in the women's high jump.

• Jill Marie Jones (B.A. 1999) Actress, most recognizable role as 'Toni Childs' for six seasons in Girlfriends.

• Joan Wall (M.M. 1969) Mezzo-soprano, Principal performer at the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and in Amsterdam, Boston, Philadelphia, Fort Worth and other US cities.

[edit] External links

• Texas Woman's University
• The Lasso (Weekly Student Newspaper)