University of Texas at Arlington

An undated image of the first building on the campus of Arlington College

The university traces its roots back to the opening of Arlington College in September 1895. Arlington College was established as a private school for primary through secondary level students, equivalent to the modern 1st to 10th grades. At the time, the public school system in the city of Arlington was underfunded and understaffed.[11] Local merchant Edward Emmett Rankin organized fellow citizens of the city to donate materials and land to build a schoolhouse where the modern campus is now located.[12]

Rankin also convinced the two co-principals of the public school in Arlington, Lee Morgan Hammond and William Marshall Trimble, to invest in and hold the same positions at Arlington College. In the first few years, between 75 and 150 students were enrolled in the college. The public school began to rent space at Arlington College, and was eventually sold to the city in 1900. The public school building became so unsafe that all of the space in Arlington College was rented for the 1901–1902 school year until the creation of the Arlington Independent School District in 1902. Although the public education system was set to improve, Arlington College was closed and the property was sold to James McCoy Carlisle.

Bird's-eye painting of Carlisle Military Academy, 1911

Carlisle was already established as a respected educator in the North Texas region, and he opened the Carlisle Military Academy in the fall of 1902. His program consisted of a balance between course work and military training. Enrollment increased to 150 students by 1905, and he began a large expansion of the campus. Baseball, football, basketball, and track teams were begun between 1904 and 1908. Around the same time, new barracks, a track, a gymnasium, and an indoor pool were built. The academy became known as one of the best at its level in the country.[12] Unfortunately, enrollment did not continue to increase with the expansion in facilities and Carlisle ran into serious financial problems.

Lawsuits for the mortgages on the property were filed in 1911, and Carlisle Military Academy was closed in 1913. In the fall of 1913, Henry Kirby Taylor moved from Missouri, where he was president of the Northwest State Teachers' College, to set up another military academy called Arlington Training School.[13] He also was required to manage the finances and campus for the property owners. By the 1914–1915 school year, the campus contained 11 buildings on 10 acres (40,000 m²) of land with 95 students enrolled.[14] The school was incorporated in 1915 in order to raise funds to make improvements to the existing buildings, but more financial problems arose and another series of lawsuits were filed. Taylor left Arlington, and the property owners hired John B. Dodson to establish a third military academy for the 1916–1917 school year called Arlington Military Academy. Enrollment was apparently very low,[12] and Arlington Military Academy closed after one year.

The Science Building at the North Texas Agricultural College in 1941. The building was constructed in 1928 and has since been renamed Preston Hall. It is one of the oldest surviving structures on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington.

NTAC Corps of Cadets on the campus quad, 1920s.

Since the turn of the 20th century, the prospects for turning the campus into a public, junior vocational college had been discussed. By 1917, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in College Station was overcrowded and had only one branch campus, Prairie View A&M. Vincent Woodbury Grubb, a lawyer and education advocate, organized Arlington officials to lobby the state legislature to create a new junior college.[15] The Arlington campus was established as a branch of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and was called Grubbs Vocational College.[16] Myron L. Williams was appointed as the first dean. Students were either enrolled in a high school or junior college program, and all men were required to be cadets.[17] Its name changed again in 1923 to the North Texas Agricultural College (NTAC). Edward Everett Davis replaced Williams as dean in 1925 and held that position for 21 years.[12]

Davis worked continually to improve the quality of students, faculty, and facilities.[18] The Great Depression resulted in major cuts to funding and a decline in students, so more general college courses were gradually introduced at NTAC instead of vocational classes. During World War II, the college trained students with a "war program" focus[19] and participated in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, offered at 131 colleges and universities in 1943, which gave students a path to a Navy commission.[20] Dean Davis appointed Ernest H. Hereford, then Registrar in 1942, to the position of associate dean in 1943. Following Davis's retirement in 1946, Hereford was appointed dean of NTAC.[21]

In 1948, the Texas A&M System was created and Dean Hereford was named the first president of NTAC.[22] The name was changed to Arlington State College (ASC) in 1949 to reflect the fact that agriculture was no longer an important part of the curriculum. Efforts were begun to turn ASC into a four-year institution, but the Texas A&M administration refused to consider the idea since it was possible that ASC could grow to be larger than College Station.[12][23][24] The growth of the city of Arlington in the 1950s led to a major expansion of ASC. The student population increased from 1,322 in 1952 to 6,528 in 1959,[12] which led to land acquisition and construction of many buildings. Jack Woolf was named president in 1959 as serious efforts began to make ASC a four-year college.[25] The Texas legislature approved the four-year status on April 27, 1959.[26] Enrollment reached 9,116 students in the fall of 1963, a larger total than the Texas A&M College Station campus.[12] Although Texas A&M proposed a reorganization for the system to recognize ASC's growth, A&M System President James Earl Rudder resisted developing ASC into a university with graduate programs.[27] Rudder and the Texas A&M board of directors, viewing ASC as a threat to the College Station campus, withheld construction funding and blocked degree development.[12]

Aerial view of the University of Texas at Arlington campus in 1967

The decision by the Texas A&M University governing board to block development at Arlington State College led officials of the College and a number of Arlington citizens to enlist the support of Governor John Connally and key members of the Texas Legislature to separate Arlington State College from the Texas A&M University System and to join The University of Texas System.[12] As part of a plan that reorganized several university systems in Texas, Arlington State College officially became a part of The University of Texas System on September 1, 1965. To reflect its new membership within the UT System, the university adopted its current name in 1967.[28]

Joining the UT System was of immediate consequence. In 1966 the Graduate School was established with an initial slate of six master's degrees and new construction projects started.[29] The 1969 approval of the first PhD program, in engineering, was a landmark event which set a precedent for other units on campus to follow.

Controversy erupted in the late 1960s over the use of a rebel theme that was started in 1951, including Confederate symbols and mock-slave auctions as campus traditions. After several years of efforts by President Frank Harrison to give students an opportunity to pick another theme, the UT System abolished rebels.[30] The Maverick theme was adopted after a student vote in 1971.

Wendell Nedderman served as acting president from 1972 to 1974 and president from 1974 to 1992. His tenure was characterized by increased growth and aspirations. In these years, the graduate student population increased from 936 to 4,200 and the overall university enrollment reached 25,135 students. Faculty research and publishing was emphasized along with the addition of doctoral programs in science, engineering, business, social work, and public and urban administration.[12] The Texas Select Committee on Higher Education recognized UT Arlington as an emerging research institution in 1987.[31] The university experienced significant enrollment gains and rapid acceleration in research under the leadership of former presidents James D. Spaniolo and Vistasp Karbhari. The physical campus became much more residential in character and numerous major academic and student life buildings were added.

The 420 acre main campus is at the southern edge of downtown Arlington, which also includes the largest branch of the public library, City Hall, Theatre Arlington, Levitt Pavilion, Arlington Museum of Art, churches, and numerous types of businesses just south of the Texas and Pacific Railway line, around which the city was established.[32]

The Barnett Shale formation sits below the campus and has earned the university millions of dollars from natural gas production since 2008. These funds are used for scholarships, faculty recruitment, and campus infrastructure upgrades.[33]

An unnamed branch of Johnson Creek, a tributary of the Trinity River, runs along the southern portion of the campus. Cooper Street (which forms a part of Farm to Market Road 157) runs through the campus and provides access to Interstates 20 and Interstate 30. AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park, Texas Live!, Six Flags Over Texas, and International Bowling Museum are two miles to the northeast.

A fountain on campus

The campus is organized on the city's former street grid. The topography generally slopes to the south and east to landscaped creeks. Decades of prodigious tree-planting and deliberate attention to landscape design have resulted in a shaded campus that is a pleasing pedestrian experience. Most streets in the campus core are closed and converted into pedestrian malls. The predominant east-west walk is the Second Street Mall, and the most important north-south passageway is Arlington Walk, extending from the Engineering Research Building on the north to the Science & Engineering Innovation & Research Building on the south.

The oldest buildings on campus, Ransom Hall, Preston Hall, and College Hall are on the Second Street Mall and date to 1919.[34] The architecture of these pre-World War II buildings is traditional. Later buildings from the 1960s, '70s, and '80s are typical of much campus construction of the period: modern, functional, and not especially noteworthy.[35] An exception is the Architecture Building (designed by the respected Dallas firm, Pratt, Box, and Henderson)[36] which forms an intimate and visit-worthy courtyard; the Nursing Building is noted for its unusual triangular shape. Texas Hall (George Dahl, architect) is a contributing building with its front portico, and Nedderman Hall is a contributing structure with its large atrium.[37] An admirable feature of the campus is the aesthetic consistency of limestone and UTA-blend brick. Metal panels have appeared in construction since the late 1990s.[38]

The Central Library, designed by prominent 20th-century architect George Dahl (well known contributions include Art Deco buildings at Dallas Fair Park), forms one side of a Library Quad which may be regarded as the heart of campus.[39] The Central Library and Texas Hall are examples of Mid-century Modern design. Attention to building design and the definition of outdoor spaces is evident with the postmodern additions of the Chemistry & Physics Building (Perkins + Will), Maverick Activities Center (Hughes Group with Page), Engineering Research Building (ZGF Architects with Page), College Park Center (HKS, Inc.), and Science & Engineering Innovation & Research Building (ZGF with Page). The Chemistry & Physics Building contains one of the largest and most advanced planetariums in the state.[40]

College Park Center District

The north and east sides of campus have defined edges, being bounded by UTA Boulevard and Center Street, respectively. The south and west sides tend to blend more irregularly into the city. Cooper Street is a major artery that runs through campus and is partially depressed and spanned by three pedestrian bridges. Academic buildings erected over recent decades are on the east side of Cooper Street (defined by signage as "east campus").

Surface parking is pushed to the outer edges of campus, particularly south of the academic core, resulting in students getting more exercise than they may want during peak periods. The West Campus Parking Garage and the College Park parking garages on the northwest and northeast campus corners, respectively, provide some relief and advance the master plan goal of reducing surface parking. Green spaces, or outdoor rooms, have increased in the 2000s most notably with the creation of the Greene Research Quad, the Green at College Park, a sunken courtyard at Davis Hall, Brazos Park, and the Davis Street west campus edge. Located in various regions of campus are fiberglass horse statues with uniquely colored blue and orange patterns called "Spirit Horses."[41]

The College Park District is a $160 million development completed in 2012 that significantly expanded the campus eastward.[42] The district has an arena with seating for 7,000 spectators, dormitory, student apartments, retail space, an 1,800-car parking garage, a welcome center, a credit union, and a 5-acre park called The Green at College Park.[43]

The on-campus resident population is over 5,000, creating a lively 24/7 environment.[44] Large numbers of students live in Arlington Hall, Kalpana Chawla Hall, Vandergriff Hall, West Hall, and numerous on-campus apartments. The Dallas Morning News editorialized on June 23, 2012, that "UTA suddenly offers a new sense of place that surprises people who haven't taken a look for a few years."

Shown below are: Nedderman Hall, Engineering Research Building, Arlington Hall, CAPPA Building, Texas Hall, Jack Woolf Hall, The Commons, and College of Business.

• 
  Nedderman Hall
• 
  Engineering Research Building
• 
  Arlington Hall
• 
  CAPPA Building
• 
  Texas Hall
• 
  The Commons
• 
  College of Business

In 2007, UTA opened the historic and renovated Sante Fe Freight building in downtown Fort Worth for educational purposes. Initially, UTA offered only Masters of Business Administration classes but later expanded to offering more classes for several degree programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels. The Fort Worth campus has over 25,000 square feet of state-of-the-art classrooms, services, and amenity space.[45]

The university consists of 10 colleges and schools, each listed with its founding date:[74]

Girolamo Ruscelli's 1561 map of New Spain, Nueva Hispania Tabula Nova. Image from the UTA Libraries Special Collections

UT Arlington Libraries have three locations: Central Library, the Architecture and Fine Arts Library, and the Science and Engineering Library. Central Library is open 24/7 during the fall and spring semesters.

The Libraries Collections includes historical collections on Texas, Mexico, the Mexican–American War, and the greater southwest. An extensive cartography collection holds maps and atlases of the western hemisphere covering five centuries. Also included is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram photo archives, a collection representing over 100 years of North and West Texas history. All together, Special Collections holds more than 30,000 volumes, 7,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival collections, 5,000 historical maps, 3.6 million prints and negatives, and thousands of items in other formats. Some of the Library's more rare and interesting materials are available online in their digital collections.[76]

UT Arlington has several research institutes and facilities on campus. Some notable ones include:

• The Shimadzu Institute for Research Technologies (SIRT) at UT Arlington is a centralized research resource focused on providing access to instrumentation and expertise to support research in biochemistry, biology, chemistry, cognition, engineering, geoscience, material science, nanotechnology, and neuroscience.[77]
• The UTA Aerodynamics Research Center is a research facility that operates under the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
• UT Arlington is home of a university-based nanotechnology research facility, NanoFab Research and Teaching Facility.[78]
• The Center for Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research is one of the world's collections of specimens from Central and South America and is used by herpetology researchers from around the world.[79]

Second floor outdoor view inside the SEIR building

• The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) at The University of Texas at Arlington is an academic research center that promotes research and the recruitment, retention, and professional development of UTA faculty actively engaged in studies on Latino issues. The Center hosts faculty research associates from several departments, and administers a minor in Mexican American Studies. The Director of the Center is Dr. Christian Zloniski from the Department of Sociology & Anthropology & the Associate Director is Dr. Ignacio Ruiz-Perez from the Department of Modern Languages. The Center was founded in 1993 by a Texas state mandate.[80]
• The UT Arlington Research Institute (UTARI) is a research and development unit of The University of Texas at Arlington.[81]
• The Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions, and Dollars is a University Transportation Center housed within the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs. Funded through a grant from the United States Department of Transportation, C-TEDD conducts policy research into the economic, political, and regulatory aspects of America's transportation systems.[82]
• The Genomics Core Facility (GCF) provides UT Arlington with one of the interdisciplinary research facilities in North Texas.[83]
• The Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research (LINK) Research Lab is a research laboratory.[84]
• The Science, Engineering, Innovation and Research (SEIR) building is a six-story, 220,000-square-foot building completed in 2018 for $125 million. The SEIR building houses research laboratories and 900 teaching seats in lecture halls and classrooms.[85]

According to the university's Research Administration, total research expenditures for fiscal year 2019 totaled $117 million. Up 52% over five years.[86]

The U.S. News & World Report consistently ranked UT Arlington in the top 10 in the nation for achieving the most ethnically diverse undergraduate student body.[87] Females account for about 55% of the total population. The top four countries of origin for international students are India, China, Taiwan, and Nigeria.[88]

The campus has six residence halls with a total capacity of at least 5,600 students.[91] The university also has 18 on-campus apartment complexes and a limited number of houses for students with dependent children. The six halls are Arlington Hall, Kalpana Chawla Hall (KC Hall), Lipscomb Hall North, Lipscomb Hall South, Vandergriff Hall at College Park, and West Hall.[92][93]

UTA bed races, 2002

Oozeball at UTA, 1997

• Bed Races: Since 1980, hundreds of students have gathered to watch teams consisting of four pushers and a rider race against each other in a race just over the length of a football field. Teams consist of student organizations, Greek organizations, and residence halls from around UT Arlington.[94]
• Homecoming: Paired with the beginning of basketball season in the fall, UT Arlington Homecoming features numerous diverse activities. These include alumni events, The Bash, Boom at Noon firing of the Carlisle Cannons, the Parade, fireworks display, pep rally, and homecoming game match-ups.[95]
• Mav Swap: This annual tradition encourages students to trade apparel from their high school or another college for free UT Arlington gear.[96]
• International Week: "I-Week" is hosted by the International Student Organization, and branches out throughout the UT Arlington community in its entirety, celebrating diversity between cultures on campus. I-week typically includes a Food Fair, Fashion Show, Global Extravaganza, Exhibits, and more.[97]
• MavsMeet Convocation: MavsMeet, the New Student Convocation, is a formal assembly commemorating the beginning of the academic year. Students, faculty and staff are welcomed by the University president, provost, student congress president, and a distinguished UT Arlington faculty speaker. This major academic event honors all undergraduate and graduate students, but particularly new UT Arlington students. Immediately following the New Student Convocation, the MavsMeet AfterParty kicks off the year with live music acts, free food, games and activities.[98]
• Oozeball: An annual event hosted by the Student Alumni Association[99] and Campus Recreation[100] to raise money for the Student Alumni Association Sophomore Scholarship. Once the amount for the scholarship is reached, all excess funds are donated to charity. In Oozeball, students play volleyball in artificial mud pits. Since its creation in 1989 in the Greek Life community, Oozeball has become one of the most popular student traditions.[101]
• Rubbing Hereford's Head: Dr. E. H. Hereford was president of ASC. His sculpted bust sits on a pedestal in the University Center, ever since it debuted in February 1959.[102] Superstition holds that rubbing Dr. Hereford's head gives good luck on exams.
• Soaping the fountain: Occasionally mischievous students will pollute the main fountain at the east end of the flying bridge over Cooper street with soap, causing it to be filled with suds and requiring it to be drained and cleaned. Less often other fountains on campus are subject to the same soap abuse.
• UT Arlington Marching Band: Known as "The Ambassadors of the University," the UT Arlington Marching Band is one of the few college marching bands in the nation to exist without a football team. The band performs annually for crowds numbering 100,000 and is featured in exhibition performances at state and local contests, such as Bands of America and Regional UIL, as well as festivals and high school and professional football games. In 2001, the band performed in exhibition at the Bands of America Grand Nationals Championship, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 175 student musicians in the band represent almost all academic disciplines and majors within the University.[103]

The fraternity and sorority community at UT Arlington consists of 31 national and local organizations with four governing councils.[104] Traditionally, between five and ten percent of undergraduate students participate within the councils.[105] The year indicates the original charter date:

UT Arlington fields teams or competitors in 15 NCAA Division I events, including baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, track, and volleyball.

Volleyball achieved the greatest team success in the history of the university by advancing to the 1989 NCAA Volleyball Final Four. The women's basketball team played in the 2005 and 2007 NCAA tournaments; the men's basketball team made its first appearance in the 2008 NCAA tournament, losing in the first round against No. 1 seed Memphis, who was later forced to vacate this and all other wins from the 2007–2008 season. The men's basketball team earned a berth the National Invitation Tournament for the third time during the 2016–2017 season, advancing to the quarter finals. The quarter-final run included a win at BYU and two home games at College Park Center in front of large crowds (need citation). In 2011–2012, the men's team advanced to the National Invitation Tournament, falling to the Washington Huskies on their home court in a highly competitive game in the opening round.[115]

UT Arlington fielded a football team, playing out of Maverick Stadium, until it was discontinued after the 1985 season. The university administration noted major financial losses of about $1 million per year and low average attendance (5,600, the student body at the time was 23,100). The program was funded by the university's auxiliary enterprise income while the other 14 sports were under-funded, as football accounted for half the total athletic budget.[116] Discussions take place periodically about restarting football but have not gained traction as an institutional priority.[117]

UTA's small coed cheerleading team has become a perennial power in Division I competitive cheerleading. The team has been crowned National Cheerleaders Association Collegiate National Champions in 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.[118]

The Spirit Horse at the College Park Center

The Texas State Bobcats, from a Central Texas peer institution, are a primary in-conference rival dating back to 1987 with concurrent memberships in three different conferences. As of the conclusion of the 2016–2017 seasons, UTA leads the all-time series in men's basketball (36–33), volleyball (42–35), softball (61–59), and football (2–0), and the Bobcats lead in women's basketball (31–39), and baseball (43–66).

UTA also maintains a relatively heated non-conference rivalry with the University of North Texas Mean Green. Periodic sporting events between the two are among the best attended for each team. The longest standing sport rivalry is men's basketball, which began in 1925.[119]

One of UTA's most anticipated baseball rivalries is with the TCU Horned Frogs. The two Tarrant County teams play annually in games that generate high attendance from both universities. 4,015 people saw the UTA/TCU match-up at Globe Life Park in Arlington in 2013. Five of the top nine most attended games at Clay Gould Ballpark feature TCU as the visiting team.

With UTA beginning Sun Belt membership in 2013, conference rivalries were resumed with the Arkansas State Red Wolves, Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, and Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks, who were all members of the Southland Conference at various points during UTA's tenure.

Presidents, deans, and other heads of UT Arlington and its predecessor institutions:

• Lee Morgan Hammond & William H. Trimble, Co-principals, Arlington College, 1895–1902[120]
• James McCoy Carlisle, Chief Administrator, Carlisle Military Academy, 1902–1913[120]
• Henry Kirby Taylor, Chief Administrator, Arlington Training School, 1913–1916
• John B. Dodson, Chief Administrator, Arlington Military Academy, 1916–1917
• Myron L. Williams, Dean, Grubbs Vocational College, 1917–1923
• Edward Everett Davis, Dean, North Texas Agricultural College, 1923–1946
• Ernest H. Hereford, PhD, Dean, North Texas Agricultural College, 1946–1948
• Ernest H. Hereford, PhD, President, Arlington State College 1948–1958
• Jack R. Woolf, PhD, President, ASC and UT Arlington, 1959–1968[120]
• Frank Harrison, PhD, President, UT Arlington, 1968–1972
• Wendell Nedderman, PhD, President, UT Arlington, 1972–1992[120]
• Ryan C. Amacher, PhD, President, UT Arlington, 1992–1995
• Robert E. Witt, PhD, President, UT Arlington, 1995–2003
• Charles A. Sorber, PhD, Interim President, UT Arlington, 2003–2004
• James D. Spaniolo, M.P.A., J.D., President, UT Arlington, 2004–2013
• Vistasp Karbhari, PhD, President, UT Arlington, 2013–2020

• Kalpana Chawla, first Indian-American astronaut and first Indian woman in space
• Pat Choate, American economist, 1996 Reform Party candidate for Vice President
• Waded Cruzado, educator, the 12th president of Montana State University
• Roland G. Fryer Jr., educator, Professor of Economics at Harvard University
• Caitlin Glass, voice actress
• Marjorie Herrera Lewis, author
• Lou Diamond Phillips, actor and director
• R. Byron Pipes, educator, researcher in polymer sciences and the seventeenth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Doug Russell, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three different events.
• Robert L. Stewart, astronaut and first active-duty U.S. Army soldier to make a spaceflight