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History of the University
The Texas Woman's University was created
by an act of the 27th Legislature in 1901. As the Girls Industrial
College, it opened
with a dual mission which continues to guide the University today: to
provide a liberal education and to prepare young women "for the
practical industries of the age" with a specialized education.
In 1905 the name was changed to the College of Industrial Arts. Under five
presidents the College grew in academic excellence, in size and scope,
and in reputation. The rising academic qualifications of the faculty, the
building of a substantial library and research and instructional
facilities, and the increasing demand for graduate education for women
led to the establishment of graduate studies at the College in 1930.
In 1934 the name of the institution was changed to
the Texas State College for Women to describe more accurately the scope
of the school. The first doctoral degrees were awarded in 1953. Since
1957 the name of the institution has been the Texas Woman's University,
reflecting its status as a multi-purpose institution of higher education,
holding the Carnegie Classification of Doctoral, Professions Dominant.
The Texas Woman's University is fully accredited by the Commission on
Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866
Southern Lane, Decatur,
Georgia
30033-4097: Telephone number 404/679-4501) to award baccalaureate,
master's, and doctoral degrees.
As is indicated by the name, the Texas Woman's
University has historically been a single-gender institution. In 1972, in
compliance with the Public Health Service Act of that year, qualified men
became eligible for admission to the Institute of Health
Sciences on the same basis as qualified
women. A similar modification of policy pursuant to provisions of Title IX
of the Higher Education Act Amendments, also of 1972, granted qualified
men admission to all programs offered at the graduate level. Since
December 1994, qualified women and men have been admitted to the
University General Divisions, the Institute
of Health Sciences, and the Graduate School.
In 1972 the University adopted its present
organization of three major academic components: the University General
Divisions, the Institute of Health Sciences, and the Graduate School.
The University General Divisions offered undergraduate instruction in the
Colleges of Humanities and Fine Arts; Natural and Social Sciences;
Education; Nutrition, Textiles, and Human Development; and Health,
Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance; and in the School of Library
and Information Studies. The Institute
of Health Sciences offered
undergraduate instruction in the College of Nursing
and in the Schools of Health Care Services, Occupational Therapy, and
Physical Therapy. The Graduate
School administered
graduate programs in each of these schools and colleges.
In 1989, as a result of a strategic planning process
designed to promote academic cooperation and reduce the number of
administrative units, the University General Divisions were reorganized
to include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School
of Library and Information
Studies, and the College
of Education and
Human Ecology. The Institute of Health Sciences was reorganized to include the College of Nursing,
School of Physical
Therapy, School
of Occupational Therapy, and College of Health Sciences. The Graduate School administers graduate
programs in each of the schools and colleges.
In November 1999, the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board approved the creation of a School
of Management, which remains a
unit within the College
of Arts and
Sciences. In 2000, the School of
Library and Information Studies
and the College of Education and Human Ecology were combined to
form the College of Professional Education, which contains
departments in Teacher Education, Educational Administration, Family
Sciences, and Reading.
The School of Library and Information Studies, which offers
graduate programs in Library Science and an undergraduate program in Mass
Communications, remains a unit within the College of Professional
Education.
Now in its tenth decade, the University has grown
from a small college to a major university, the largest university
primarily for women in the United States,
with campuses in Denton, Dallas,
and Houston.
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