Dr. Ann Stuart, Chancellor and President

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History of TWU

An act of the 27th Legislature in 1901 founded the Girls Industrial College, the school that would become Texas Woman's University in 1957. The school had then and has now a dual mission: to provide a liberal education and to prepare young women "for the practical industries of the age" with a specialized education.

Men have been admitted to TWU since 1972.

TWU today offers a comprehensive catalog of academic studies, including baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. Now in its tenth decade, the University has grown from a small college to a major university. TWU is the largest university primarily for women in the United States, with the main campus in Denton and health science centers in Dallas and Houston.

Highlights by date

1901: The bill was passed into law creating the Girls Industrial College.

1903: First classes were held.

1904: First graduating class with one graduate, Beulah Kincaid.

1905: Name changed to College of Industrial Arts (CIA).

1923: Initial accreditation by Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

1934: Name changed to Texas State College for Women (TSCW).

1950: The nursing program became the first nationally accredited nursing school in Texas.

1953: First Ph.D. degrees awarded; Alice Knapper Milson--Dietetics & Nutrition and Mae Yoder Moor--Textile Technology.

1954: Nursing training began in cooperation with Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

1956: The first building in the nation dedicated to library science instruction was opened.

1957: Name changed to Texas Woman's University (TWU).

1958: TWU accepted the invitation to provide nurses training at the Medical Center of Houston.

1963: Nursing students began receiving training at the Medical Center of Houston.

1989-90: The production Six Women with Brain Death ... or Expiring Minds Want to Know won national honors at the American College Theatre Festival and six performances were held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

1993: TWU ranked 1st in the state and 3rd in the nation for number of doctorates granted in health sciences.

1994: Fall enrollment of 10,090 was the highest in the history of TWU. Fall 1995 was the second highest at 9,852.

1994: TWU opened its General Divisions to qualified males.

1995: TWU added its fifth NCAA intercollegiate sports program (softball), now offering basketball, gymnastics, softball, tennis and volleyball.

1995-96: Academic year of largest number of degrees conferred: 2,096. The top three areas by level were: Bachelor - Nursing (343), Interdisciplinary Studies (187), Occupational Therapy (92); Masters - Occupational Therapy (127), Physical Therapy (84), Library Science (64); Doctoral - Nursing (13), Physical Education (10), School Psychology (9).

1996: The TWU gymnastic team became known as the "Quad Squad" after winning their fourth consecutive USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship.

1997-98: The Blagg-Huey Library holds 711,462 bound volumes, 6,023 periodical subscriptions, 712,443 microform items, 10,224 audio visual items, and 41 CD-ROM titles.

1998: The TWU gymnastic team regained their national title, winning their fifth out of the last six years.

2000: The TWU gymnastic team won their sixth USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship title since 1993. The team recorded an event-high and school record score of 193.850 and won by the largest margin of victory in the 14-year history of the event.

2002: The TWU soccer team began their inaugural season in the fall.