HomeMy WebLinkAboutCampus_WomenADMISSION OF WOMEN, MINORITY INCLUSIVENESS
Texas A&M Commemorates 50th Anniversary
It was 50 years ago that the then Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas gained “university” status and a new name, formally opened
its student body to women—although officially then on a “limited basis”—and enrolled its first African-American students. The stage was
also being set to make participation in the Corps of Cadets optional. Gen. Earl Rudder, who served as president of Texas A&M from 1959
until his death in 1970, is credited with providing key leadership in initiating all of those transformational endeavors. It paved the way for
women to join the Corps of Cadets in 1974.
Texas A&M has emerged as one of the largest universities in the nation—with an enrollment of more than 50,000, with almost half of its
students now women—and is making significant progress in diversifying its student body. It was 50 years ago that, in name, the Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas ceased to exist. That’s when Texas A&M*—as it was informally known for decades before and
since—formally became Texas A&M University. It took action by the 58th Texas Legislature to make it official for the institution that had
been authorized under the federal Morrill Act of 1862. Texas A&M was founded on April 17, 1871, and officially opened on Oct. 4, 1876.
Action by the Texas A&M Board of Directors (now Board of Regents) on April 27, 1963, opened the doors for women to enroll at the
formerly all-male, predominately military institution on a “limited basis.” The intent was for women to be allowed to enroll at Texas A&M if
their desired fields of study were not available anywhere else in the state. However, women soon started enrolling in ever-increasing
numbers, and no institutional attempt was made to limit the areas in which they could study. Texas A&M then had 8,142 students. It
enrolled more than 50,000 last fall and even more are expected for the start of the 2013 fall semester, with almost half of them women.
Months in advance of the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, admission to Texas A&M was opened to African-American
students. The university currently enrolls more than 1,700 African-American students, with the university reporting modest gains in recent
years. Officials there underscore their commitment to continuing to make higher enrollment of all minorities an institutional priority.
Hispanics, the other ethnic minority group affected by the civil rights legislation, had been attending Texas A&M for decades.
* University officials emphasize the “A” and “M” in the institution’s name are not initials for “agricultural” and “mechanical” –even though agriculture and
mechanical (engineering) programs continue to be major academic and research factors at the university. In fact, they note the “A” and “M” are not initials at
all. They are simply letters intended as historical links harkening back to the proud institution’s origin.
Excerpt from TAMU Times article on Aug. 27, 2013. Courtesy of Texas A&M University.