Southwestern University
Encyclopedia
Southwestern University (also referred to as Southwestern or SU) is a private
, four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts college
located in Georgetown
, Texas
, USA. Founded in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church
although the curriculum is nonsectarian
. Southwestern offers 40 bachelor's degrees in the arts, sciences, fine arts, and music as well as interdisciplinary and pre-professional programs. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
and the National Association of Schools of Music
.
Southwestern is home to the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education and the National Hispanic Institute's
Center for Hispanic Studies. The university is a member of the Annapolis Group
, the Associated Colleges of the South
, the Council of Independent Colleges
, and is a signatory of the Talloires Declaration
.
(Texas Congress 1836-1845) to establish four educational institutions: Rutersville College
of Rutersville, Texas
, Wesleyan College of San Augustine, Texas
, McKenzie College
of Clarksville, Texas
, and Soule University
of Chappell Hill, Texas
.
In 1873, the union of these four institutions opened in Georgetown as Texas University. Wishing to reserve that name for a proposed state university in Austin
, the University of Texas
, the Texas Legislature instead granted a charter in 1875 under the name Southwestern University as a continuation of the charters for Rutersville, Wesleyan, McKenzie, and Soule. The university's founding date is 1840 when Rutersville College opened. Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas and the second oldest coeducational liberal arts college west of the Mississippi
. Baylor University
, chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas, holds the designation of being the state's oldest university continuously operating under its original charter.
Southwestern was a charter member of the Southwest Conference in 1915. Southern Methodist University
was Southwestern's main rival for several decades in remembrance of an unsuccessful attempt to relocate Southwestern to Dallas which instead resulted in the establishment of SMU. When SMU's student population became much larger, students at Southwestern began considering Trinity University
and Austin College
to be the school's main rivals. After World War II, Southwestern transformed itself into a small liberal arts institution, discontinuing its post-graduate degrees, disbanding the football team, and rebuilding much of the campus with a massive capital campaign. The endowment rose substantially.
Southwestern has a history of drawing prolific lecturers to campus, including William Jennings Bryan
, Helen Keller
, bell hooks
, and alumnus J. Frank Dobie
. Orators traveling by train often stopped off on their way to or from Austin, giving their lectures and catching the next train. Speakers at the annual Brown Symposium have included author Isaac Asimov
(through a video conference) in the early 1980s and Nobel prize
-winning economist
Joseph Stiglitz in 2002. The Shilling Lecture series has drawn such names recently as presidential advisor Karen Hughes
(2003), Archbishop
Desmond Tutu
(2004), former Pakistani Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto
(2005), former Governor of New Jersey
Thomas Kean
(2006), and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai
(2009). In 2002, The Writer's Voice series presented Pulitzer Prize
winning author Michael Chabon
. The Writer's Voice has also welcomed such authors as Joyce Carol Oates
(2000), Margaret Atwood
(2003), Amy Tan
(2007), and Azar Nafisi
(2008).
In January 2010 to further its goal to become carbon neutral, Southwestern signed an agreement with the City of Georgetown to get all of its electricity for the next 18 years exclusively from wind power. This deal makes Southwestern the first university in Texas to get all its power from renewable sources.
, Law
, Medicine
, and Theology
.
As of 2007, 1,310 undergraduate students were enrolled with 125 faculty. The class of 2011 is 63% female and 37% male, with SAT
scores averaging at 1220. The class comes from 17 different states, but a majority come from the state of Texas. Fifty percent of first-year students were in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class and 82 percent were in the top 25 percent of their high school class. Twenty-two percent of first-year students are minority students. Southwestern University accepts about a third of its applicants.
99 percent of the faculty have earned doctoral or similar terminal degrees in their respective fields. The student to faculty ratio is 10:1, with an average class size of 14 students. This low ratio allows for students and faculty to engage in a less formal interaction as well as maintain a working relationship in the classroom. Collaborative research and publication with students is common.
In 1998, Southwestern faculty, students, alumni, staff and trustees identified the university’s core purpose and core values. The core purpose was identified as "Fostering a liberal arts community whose values and actions encourage contributions toward the well-being of humanity." The core values were "Promoting lifelong learning and a passion for intellectual and personal growth; fostering diverse perspectives; being true to one's self and others; respecting the worth and dignity of persons; and encouraging activism in the pursuit of justice and the common good." A sixth core value, cultivating academic excellence, was added in 2008.
, former education editor for The New York Times
, included Southwestern in his 1996 book, Colleges That Change Lives
. He wrote, "[Southwestern] is one of the few jewels of the Southwest whose mission is to prepare a new generation to contribute to a changing society, and to prosper in their jobs, whatever and wherever in the world they may be."
Southwestern has been named a "Best Buy" in education by U.S. News & World Report
, The Fiske Guide to Colleges, Money magazine
and Kiplinger's Personal Finance
magazine. Most recently, Southwestern was named the nation's 7th "Best Value" undergraduate institution by the 2005 Princeton Review college guide, underscoring Southwestern's "value-added" educational experience.
The National Survey of Student Engagement's
2007 Institutional Engagement Index found that students at Southwestern University were more engaged than the national average in all five areas of educational practice measured for the sixth year in a row. These educational practices include: level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment. Among both first-year students and seniors, Southwestern was in the top 10 percent of schools nationally in the areas of student-faculty interaction and enriching educational experiences. It also ranked in the top 10 percent in level of academic challenge.
In 2007, Southwestern president Jake Schrum appeared on the Today Show announcing that Southwestern University would not participate in the peer review section of the U.S. News and World Report's annual college rankings. Southwestern is a member of the Annapolis Group
, a coalition of liberal arts colleges opposed to college ranking systems. Southwestern is also one of the original twelve schools to sign the Presidents Letter, calling on schools to cease participation in US News ranking surveys. However, despite their commitment, Southwestern itself has continued to participate in the US News & World Report's ranking of liberal arts colleges.
The 2008 edition of The Best 366 Colleges, published by the Princeton Review, ranked Southwestern #7 in the country for Best Career/Job Placement Services. The list was compiled through a survey of 120,000 students at colleges included in the book.
In 2011, Forbes
ranked Southwestern in the top 130 of their America's top colleges list.
, about 30 miles (50 km) north of Austin
. The campus comprises 700 acres (2.8 km²) mostly located north of University Avenue, although the eastern portion of these lands remains largely undeveloped. The main campus is organized around a central academic mall formed by a semi-circular grassy area bounded by a pedestrian walkway and academic buildings. Residence halls and on-campus apartments are located to the east and northwest of the academic mall. Sports fields, support facilities, and parking are on the periphery of the main campus.
style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The Cullen Building currently houses the administration, business office, alumni relations, and classrooms. Throughout various times in its history, it has also housed the campus auditorium
, gym
nasium, chapel
, and library
. It is named in honor of Hugh Roy Cullen
and his wife.
Mood-Bridwell Hall, originally a men's dormitory
, was completed in 1908 and currently houses classrooms, faculty offices, a computer lab, the Debbie Ellis Writing Center, and an indoor atrium
. Mood-Bridwell is included in the Cullen Building's listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The A. Frank Smith Library Center opened in 1939 as the Cody Memorial Library and was built as part of a WPA
project. It was expanded in 1966 and again in 1989, receiving the new name as a result of the second expansion. In addition to books and periodicals, the library houses a film and audio collection, 24-hour computer lab, maps, sheet music, and special collections for Texas history and culture, John Tower
, J. Frank Dobie
, Jessie Daniel Ames
, Herman Melville
, Aaron Burr
, Edward Blake
, Thomas Bewick
, and Australia
.
The Lois Perkins Chapel was built in 1950 and includes an Aeolian-Skinner
pipe organ
. Stained glass
windows along the east and west sides depict Reformation
leaders and Methodist leaders with seals for the educational institutions they were affiliated with.
The McCombs Campus Center opened in 1998, replacing the Bishops' Memorial Student Union Building and University Commons. It includes dining facilities, the campus bookstore, ballroom
s, and student organization offices. It is named for billionaire entrepreneur and Southwestern alum Red McCombs
.
The Fayez Sarofim
School of Fine Arts is housed in the Alma Thomas Fine Arts Building, originally built in 1956 on the former property of the Texas rancher John Wesley Snyder
, a Southwestern University benefactor. The Fine Arts Building (FAB) has been renovated multiple times, most recently in 1998 and 2008. The FAB houses the 700-seat Alma Thomas Theater, the smaller Jones Theater, the Caldwell-Carvey Foyer, numerous practice rooms, art studios, a black box theater, and an instrumental rehearsal hall.
The Wilhelmina Cullen Admission Center opened in 2009, moving the admissions office out of the Roy and Lillie Cullen Building. It is Southwestern's first "green" building and was designed to receive Gold LEED
certification. Some of the building's features include a bamboo floor in the lobby area, skylights in the center of the building, solar-powered sink faucets and reflective roof shingles. Southwestern plans to turn the area in the original Cullen Building formerly occupied by the Admission Office into a museum. The Admissions Center was named after Wilhelmina Cullen, the daughter of Roy and Lillie Cullen.
also has a chapter. Several groups on campus participate in social activism and awareness on campus and in the Austin area, including Students for Environmental Activism and Knowledge (SEAK), Latinos Unidos, EBONY, and Amnesty International
. Religious groups on campus include the national Christian fraternity
Kappa Upsilon Chi
, Christian sorority Sigma Phi Lambda
, Jewish Student Association, Muslim Student Organization, and Buddhist Meditation Group. Other groups include Habitat for Humanity, Model U.N., and German Club.
, replacing the Student Judiciary which previously adjudicated violations of the honor code.
governed by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Council. The fraternities include Kappa Alpha Order
, Kappa Sigma
, Pi Kappa Alpha
, and Phi Delta Theta
. The sororities are Alpha Delta Pi
, Alpha Xi Delta
, Delta Delta Delta
, and Zeta Tau Alpha
. All four fraternities occupy houses on the western side of the campus. The sororities do not have dedicated housing, although they maintain chapter rooms in the Lord Caskey Center. Southwestern has a deferred rush allowing incoming students to become familiar with the campus before formal recruitment begins in the early spring.
Southwestern University Magazine is the student literary magazine
. The magazine is the oldest publication on campus, established in 1882 as the Alamo and San Jacinto Monthly and renamed the Southwestern University Monthly in 1895. Currently published twice a year at the end of each semester, the magazine features student poetry, short stories, artwork, and photography.
SU Radio is an online radio station broadcasting music and student commentary in hour-long programming blocks. SU Radio
Incoming students participate in Matriculation Convocation held during orientation week. The ceremony is sometimes informally referred to as "backwards graduation."
During their last semester, seniors climb the spiral staircase of Cullen Tower to sign the tower's walls, adding their signatures to those of former students from over 100 years ago.
The Barcus Society is a secret society
that periodically appears at events on campus, often distributing free items emblazoned with the letter "B." The society revolves around Barcus, a masked character wearing a bowler hat
, wire rimmed glasses, an old suit and vest, a gold pocket watch, and a black umbrella. Barcus's appearance is intended to resemble former Southwestern president James Samuel Barcus. Barcus arrives at most events in a yellow and black Model T and is usually flanked by robed students wearing sunglasses.
The Brooks Prize Debate is a yearly debate and oratory competition originally established by the university's literary societies
in 1878. It is named in honor of alumnus Richard Edward Brooks who established a monetary prize for the debate winners in 1904.
Mall Ball, held in both the spring and fall semesters, is a family-oriented outdoor festival held on the Academic Mall.
Candlelight Service is an Advent
tradition held in the Perkins Chapel the week before fall final exams.
There are several traditions associated with final exams. 24-hour quiet hours are enforced in all on-campus housing during exam week except for a 10 minute period called Final Scream where students attempt to make as much noise as possible. An event called Late Night Breakfast held one night during finals week involves faculty serving free food to students.
Southwestern is a member of the NCAA
Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
(SCAC). Southwestern competes in 18 sports, including basketball, cross country, track & field, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, men's baseball, men's lacrosse, women's volleyball and women's softball. Intramural sports on campus include handball, rock climbing, ultimate frisbee, and equestrian activities. The school mascot
is the pirate.
The men's lacrosse team became a varsity sport in 2009 after offering lacrosse as a club sport for 25 years. The men's lacrosse team won the Lonestar Alliance Division II Championship for four consecutive years prior to becoming a varsity sport. The women's team is currently non-varsity and is affiliated with the Texas Women's Lacrosse League, although the university plans to field a varsity team in 2014. The women's team won a division championships in 2007.
In addition to lacrosse, Southwestern has a nationally ranked handball team that won the Division II National Collegiate Championship in 2007.
Southwestern plans to reinstate football
in 2013 after a 62 year hiatus. The university previously fielded football teams from 1908 to 1951, reaching national prominence during World War II
when the university's participation in the Navy's
V-12 College Training Program
enlisted talented players from other schools. Southwestern was a founding member of the Southwest Conference and won the Sun Bowl
in 1944
and 1945
.
contributed financial support for the campus center and an apartment complex. The Brown Foundation, Cullen Foundation, and Mabee Foundation have contributed financial support for multiple construction projects.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
located in Georgetown
Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown is a city and also the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States with a population of 47,400 at the 2010 census. Southwestern University, founded in 1840, is the oldest university in Texas and is located in Georgetown, about 1/2 mile east of the historic square...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, USA. Founded in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
although the curriculum is nonsectarian
Nonsectarian
Nonsectarian, in its most literal sense, refers to a lack of sectarianism. The term is also more narrowly used to describe secular private educational institutions or other organizations either not affiliated with or not restricted to a particular religious denomination though the organization...
. Southwestern offers 40 bachelor's degrees in the arts, sciences, fine arts, and music as well as interdisciplinary and pre-professional programs. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
and the National Association of Schools of Music
National Association of Schools of Music
The National Association of Schools of Music is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music...
.
Southwestern is home to the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education and the National Hispanic Institute's
National Hispanic Institute
The National Hispanic Institute is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the future leadership needs of the global Hispanic community...
Center for Hispanic Studies. The university is a member of the Annapolis Group
Annapolis Group
The Annapolis Group is an American organization that describes itself as "a nonprofit alliance of the nation’s leading independent liberal arts colleges." It represents approximately 130 liberal arts colleges in the United States...
, the Associated Colleges of the South
Associated Colleges of the South
The Associated Colleges of the South is a consortium of 16 liberal arts colleges in the southern United States. It was formed in 1991.-Members:*Birmingham-Southern College - Birmingham, Alabama...
, the Council of Independent Colleges
Council of Independent Colleges
The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of nearly 600 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and more than 70 higher education affiliates and organizations that work together to strengthen college and university leadership, sustain high-quality education, and enhance...
, and is a signatory of the Talloires Declaration
Talloires Declaration
The Talloires Declaration is a declaration for sustainability, created for and by presidents of institutions of higher learning. Jean Mayer, Tufts University president, convened a conference of 22 universities in 1990 in Talloires, France...
.
History
Prior to assuming the university's current form, charters had been granted by the Texas LegislatureTexas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
(Texas Congress 1836-1845) to establish four educational institutions: Rutersville College
Rutersville College
Rutersville College , was a coeducational college located in the unincorporated community of Rutersville in Fayette County, Texas, United States. Chartered under the Republic of Texas in 1840, Rutersville College was Texas's first institution of higher education...
of Rutersville, Texas
Rutersville, Texas
Rutersville is an unincorporated community in central Fayette County, Texas, United States.Rutersville College was located in the community.-External links:* Handbook of Texas Online....
, Wesleyan College of San Augustine, Texas
San Augustine, Texas
San Augustine is a city in San Augustine County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,475 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Augustine County and is situated in East Texas.-Geography:San Augustine is located at ....
, McKenzie College
McKenzie College (Texas)
McKenzie College, also called McKenzie's College, was a private college located on the plantation of Reverend John W. P. McKenzie in Clarksville, Texas, USA. Starting in 1841, the school grew from 16 students educated in a log cabin to over 300 students occupying four large buildings in 1854...
of Clarksville, Texas
Clarksville, Texas
Clarksville is a city in Red River County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,883. It is the county seat of Red River County.-Geography:Clarksville is located at ....
, and Soule University
Soule University
Soule University was a private Methodist university in Chappell Hill, a rural community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Chartered in 1856, Soule replaced the male department of Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute and was intended to succeed the failed Rutersville College...
of Chappell Hill, Texas
Chappell Hill, Texas
Chappell Hill is a small rural community in the eastern portion of Washington County, Texas, United States. It is located along U.S. Highway 290 roughly halfway between Brenham and Hempstead. Chappell Hill is located inside Stephen F...
.
In 1873, the union of these four institutions opened in Georgetown as Texas University. Wishing to reserve that name for a proposed state university in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, the University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, the Texas Legislature instead granted a charter in 1875 under the name Southwestern University as a continuation of the charters for Rutersville, Wesleyan, McKenzie, and Soule. The university's founding date is 1840 when Rutersville College opened. Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas and the second oldest coeducational liberal arts college west of the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
, chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas, holds the designation of being the state's oldest university continuously operating under its original charter.
Southwestern was a charter member of the Southwest Conference in 1915. Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
was Southwestern's main rival for several decades in remembrance of an unsuccessful attempt to relocate Southwestern to Dallas which instead resulted in the establishment of SMU. When SMU's student population became much larger, students at Southwestern began considering Trinity University
Trinity University (Texas)
Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....
and Austin College
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles North of Dallas....
to be the school's main rivals. After World War II, Southwestern transformed itself into a small liberal arts institution, discontinuing its post-graduate degrees, disbanding the football team, and rebuilding much of the campus with a massive capital campaign. The endowment rose substantially.
Southwestern has a history of drawing prolific lecturers to campus, including William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
, Helen Keller
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, bell hooks
Bell hooks
Gloria Jean Watkins , better known by her pen name bell hooks, is an American author, feminist, and social activist....
, and alumnus J. Frank Dobie
J. Frank Dobie
James Frank Dobie was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open range...
. Orators traveling by train often stopped off on their way to or from Austin, giving their lectures and catching the next train. Speakers at the annual Brown Symposium have included author Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
(through a video conference) in the early 1980s and Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
Joseph Stiglitz in 2002. The Shilling Lecture series has drawn such names recently as presidential advisor Karen Hughes
Karen Hughes
Karen Parfitt Hughes is the Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State with the rank of ambassador. She resides in Austin, Texas.-Early life:Born in Paris, France, she is the daughter...
(2003), Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
(2004), former Pakistani Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
(2005), former Governor of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Thomas Kean
Thomas Kean
Thomas Howard Kean is an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 48th Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Kean is best known globally, however, for his 2002 appointment as Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, widely known as the...
(2006), and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
(2009). In 2002, The Writer's Voice series presented Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning author Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
. The Writer's Voice has also welcomed such authors as Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
(2000), Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
(2003), Amy Tan
Amy Tan
Amy Tan is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. Her most well-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages...
(2007), and Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi, born ca. 1947, is an Iranian academic and bestselling writer who has resided in the United States since 1997 when she emigrated from Iran. Her field is English language literature....
(2008).
In January 2010 to further its goal to become carbon neutral, Southwestern signed an agreement with the City of Georgetown to get all of its electricity for the next 18 years exclusively from wind power. This deal makes Southwestern the first university in Texas to get all its power from renewable sources.
Academics
The university offers 40 majors and 36 minors divided between the Brown College of Arts and Sciences and the Sarofim School of Fine Arts. In addition to traditional academic majors, Southwestern offers interdisciplinary, independent, and paired majors as well as pre-professional programs in EngineeringEngineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, and Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
As of 2007, 1,310 undergraduate students were enrolled with 125 faculty. The class of 2011 is 63% female and 37% male, with SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
scores averaging at 1220. The class comes from 17 different states, but a majority come from the state of Texas. Fifty percent of first-year students were in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class and 82 percent were in the top 25 percent of their high school class. Twenty-two percent of first-year students are minority students. Southwestern University accepts about a third of its applicants.
99 percent of the faculty have earned doctoral or similar terminal degrees in their respective fields. The student to faculty ratio is 10:1, with an average class size of 14 students. This low ratio allows for students and faculty to engage in a less formal interaction as well as maintain a working relationship in the classroom. Collaborative research and publication with students is common.
In 1998, Southwestern faculty, students, alumni, staff and trustees identified the university’s core purpose and core values. The core purpose was identified as "Fostering a liberal arts community whose values and actions encourage contributions toward the well-being of humanity." The core values were "Promoting lifelong learning and a passion for intellectual and personal growth; fostering diverse perspectives; being true to one's self and others; respecting the worth and dignity of persons; and encouraging activism in the pursuit of justice and the common good." A sixth core value, cultivating academic excellence, was added in 2008.
Research
Southwestern hosts two interdisciplinary academic exhibitions each year to showcase research by students at Southwestern and researchers across the country. The Brown Symposium held in the early spring is an academic conference attracting guest lecturers and panelists. All Brown Symposium speakers present research that shares the symposium's theme for that year. The Student Works Symposium held near the end of the spring semester offers undergraduate students an opportunity to display their own research as a formal oral presentation, panel discussion, poster presentation, art exhibit, or technology demonstration. These student presentations are often the culmination of senior capstone projects, independent studies, collaborations with a faculty member, or a requirement for receiving research grants.Awards and rankings
Loren PopeLoren Pope
Loren Brooks Pope was an American writer and independent college placement counselor.In 1965, Pope, a former newspaperman and education editor of The New York Times, founded the College Placement Bureau, one of the first independent college placement counseling services in the United States...
, former education editor for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, included Southwestern in his 1996 book, Colleges That Change Lives
Colleges That Change Lives
Colleges That Change Lives is a college educational guide by Loren Pope. It was originally published in 1996, with a second edition in 2000, and a third edition in 2006...
. He wrote, "[Southwestern] is one of the few jewels of the Southwest whose mission is to prepare a new generation to contribute to a changing society, and to prosper in their jobs, whatever and wherever in the world they may be."
Southwestern has been named a "Best Buy" in education by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
, The Fiske Guide to Colleges, Money magazine
Money Magazine
Money Magazine is a business news and financial programme that is broadcast on Sundays at 7:00pm in Hong Kong by television channel TVB Pearl.-Producers and reporters:...
and Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Kiplinger's Personal Finance is a magazine that has been continuously published, on a monthly basis, from 1947 to the present day. It was the nation's first personal finance magazine, and claims to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language"...
magazine. Most recently, Southwestern was named the nation's 7th "Best Value" undergraduate institution by the 2005 Princeton Review college guide, underscoring Southwestern's "value-added" educational experience.
The National Survey of Student Engagement's
National Survey of Student Engagement
The National Survey of Student Engagement is a survey instrument used to gauge the level of student participation at universities and colleges in Canada and the United States as it relates to learning. The results of the survey help administrators and instructors to assess their students' student...
2007 Institutional Engagement Index found that students at Southwestern University were more engaged than the national average in all five areas of educational practice measured for the sixth year in a row. These educational practices include: level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment. Among both first-year students and seniors, Southwestern was in the top 10 percent of schools nationally in the areas of student-faculty interaction and enriching educational experiences. It also ranked in the top 10 percent in level of academic challenge.
In 2007, Southwestern president Jake Schrum appeared on the Today Show announcing that Southwestern University would not participate in the peer review section of the U.S. News and World Report's annual college rankings. Southwestern is a member of the Annapolis Group
Annapolis Group
The Annapolis Group is an American organization that describes itself as "a nonprofit alliance of the nation’s leading independent liberal arts colleges." It represents approximately 130 liberal arts colleges in the United States...
, a coalition of liberal arts colleges opposed to college ranking systems. Southwestern is also one of the original twelve schools to sign the Presidents Letter, calling on schools to cease participation in US News ranking surveys. However, despite their commitment, Southwestern itself has continued to participate in the US News & World Report's ranking of liberal arts colleges.
The 2008 edition of The Best 366 Colleges, published by the Princeton Review, ranked Southwestern #7 in the country for Best Career/Job Placement Services. The list was compiled through a survey of 120,000 students at colleges included in the book.
In 2011, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
ranked Southwestern in the top 130 of their America's top colleges list.
Campus
Southwestern University is located in Georgetown, TexasGeorgetown, Texas
Georgetown is a city and also the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States with a population of 47,400 at the 2010 census. Southwestern University, founded in 1840, is the oldest university in Texas and is located in Georgetown, about 1/2 mile east of the historic square...
, about 30 miles (50 km) north of Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. The campus comprises 700 acres (2.8 km²) mostly located north of University Avenue, although the eastern portion of these lands remains largely undeveloped. The main campus is organized around a central academic mall formed by a semi-circular grassy area bounded by a pedestrian walkway and academic buildings. Residence halls and on-campus apartments are located to the east and northwest of the academic mall. Sports fields, support facilities, and parking are on the periphery of the main campus.
Notable buildings
The Roy and Lillie Cullen Building (formerly called the Administration Building) was built in 1898 in the Richardsonian RomanesqueRichardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The Cullen Building currently houses the administration, business office, alumni relations, and classrooms. Throughout various times in its history, it has also housed the campus auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
, gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium, chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, and library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
. It is named in honor of Hugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry, was a large supporter of the University of Houston, and longtime chairman of the board of regents for the university...
and his wife.
Mood-Bridwell Hall, originally a men's dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
, was completed in 1908 and currently houses classrooms, faculty offices, a computer lab, the Debbie Ellis Writing Center, and an indoor atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
. Mood-Bridwell is included in the Cullen Building's listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The A. Frank Smith Library Center opened in 1939 as the Cody Memorial Library and was built as part of a WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
project. It was expanded in 1966 and again in 1989, receiving the new name as a result of the second expansion. In addition to books and periodicals, the library houses a film and audio collection, 24-hour computer lab, maps, sheet music, and special collections for Texas history and culture, John Tower
John Tower
John Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...
, J. Frank Dobie
J. Frank Dobie
James Frank Dobie was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open range...
, Jessie Daniel Ames
Jessie Daniel Ames
Jessie Daniel Ames was a civil rights activist in the Southern United States. She was one of the first Southern white women to speak out and work publicly against lynching of blacks, which were often done by white men as a misguided act of chivalry to protect their "virtue"...
, Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
, Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
, Edward Blake
Edward Blake
Dominick Edward Blake, PC, QC , known as Edward Blake, was the second Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887...
, Thomas Bewick
Thomas Bewick
Thomas Bewick was an English wood engraver and ornithologist.- Early life and apprenticeship :Bewick was born at Cherryburn House in the village of Mickley, in the parish of Ovingham, Northumberland, England, near Newcastle upon Tyne on 12 August 1753...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The Lois Perkins Chapel was built in 1950 and includes an Aeolian-Skinner
Aeolian-Skinner
Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. — Æolian-Skinner of Boston, Massachusetts was an important American builder of a large number of notable pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner , Arthur Hudson Marks ,...
pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
. Stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows along the east and west sides depict Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
leaders and Methodist leaders with seals for the educational institutions they were affiliated with.
The McCombs Campus Center opened in 1998, replacing the Bishops' Memorial Student Union Building and University Commons. It includes dining facilities, the campus bookstore, ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
s, and student organization offices. It is named for billionaire entrepreneur and Southwestern alum Red McCombs
Red McCombs
Billy Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...
.
The Fayez Sarofim
Fayez Sarofim
Fayez Sarofim is a Coptic Egyptian American fund manager for a number of Dreyfus family stock funds. He is divorced with five children, and lives in Houston, Texas. With an estimated net worth of between $1.8 billion to $4 billion, Sarofim was ranked by Forbes as the 428-richest person in the world...
School of Fine Arts is housed in the Alma Thomas Fine Arts Building, originally built in 1956 on the former property of the Texas rancher John Wesley Snyder
John Wesley Snyder (Texas)
John Wesley Snyder was a pioneer rancher, farmer, and businessman from principally Georgetown in Williamson County near Austin, Texas.-Background:...
, a Southwestern University benefactor. The Fine Arts Building (FAB) has been renovated multiple times, most recently in 1998 and 2008. The FAB houses the 700-seat Alma Thomas Theater, the smaller Jones Theater, the Caldwell-Carvey Foyer, numerous practice rooms, art studios, a black box theater, and an instrumental rehearsal hall.
The Wilhelmina Cullen Admission Center opened in 2009, moving the admissions office out of the Roy and Lillie Cullen Building. It is Southwestern's first "green" building and was designed to receive Gold LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
certification. Some of the building's features include a bamboo floor in the lobby area, skylights in the center of the building, solar-powered sink faucets and reflective roof shingles. Southwestern plans to turn the area in the original Cullen Building formerly occupied by the Admission Office into a museum. The Admissions Center was named after Wilhelmina Cullen, the daughter of Roy and Lillie Cullen.
Student activities and organizations
There are over 90 student organizations on campus. The school hosts chapters of 16 academic honor societies, including a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and the founding chapter of the Alpha Chi honor society. The national co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi OmegaAlpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
also has a chapter. Several groups on campus participate in social activism and awareness on campus and in the Austin area, including Students for Environmental Activism and Knowledge (SEAK), Latinos Unidos, EBONY, and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. Religious groups on campus include the national Christian fraternity
Christian fraternity
class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"While the traditional social fraternity is a well-established mainstay across the United States at institutions of higher learning, alternatives - in the form...
Kappa Upsilon Chi
Kappa Upsilon Chi
Kappa Upsilon Chi is a national men's fraternity composed of Christian collegians seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded in 1993 at Texas Tech University....
, Christian sorority Sigma Phi Lambda
Sigma Phi Lambda
-History:Sigma Phi Lambda was founded in 1988 at the University of Texas at Austin by Patricia Adams Hogan, Robin Maegen, Gina Williams Goveas, Jacqueline Goveas and Eileen Howell Barlow....
, Jewish Student Association, Muslim Student Organization, and Buddhist Meditation Group. Other groups include Habitat for Humanity, Model U.N., and German Club.
Student government
Student government is primarily handled by the Student Congress, with each member elected to represent students living in residence halls, Greek houses, and at-large for students living off-campus. The Student Congress is headed by a president elected through popular vote. An independent organization, Student Foundation, serves as a liaison between students, faculty, alumni, and the university's administration. A panel of students and faculty maintain the university's honor codeHonor code
An honour code or honour system is a set of rules or principles governing a community based on a set of rules or ideals that define what constitutes honorable behavior within that community. The use of an honor code depends on the idea that people can be trusted to act honorably...
, replacing the Student Judiciary which previously adjudicated violations of the honor code.
Greek Life
Southwestern hosts eight national social fraternities and sororitiesFraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
governed by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Council. The fraternities include Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
, Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
, Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
, and Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
. The sororities are Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
, Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...
, Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international sorority founded on November 27, 1888, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. With over 200,000 initiates, Tri Delta is one of the world's largest NPC sororities.-History:...
, and Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...
. All four fraternities occupy houses on the western side of the campus. The sororities do not have dedicated housing, although they maintain chapter rooms in the Lord Caskey Center. Southwestern has a deferred rush allowing incoming students to become familiar with the campus before formal recruitment begins in the early spring.
Media
The Megaphone, established in 1907, is the weekly campus newspaper published in print and online. The newspaper typically features sections for news, op-eds, sports, the arts, and humorous fictional news stories. The Megaphone has changed formats several times, alternating between broadsheets and tabloid paper. The newspaper publishes an April Fool's Day edition every spring under the title The Megaphool. The MegaphoneSouthwestern University Magazine is the student literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
. The magazine is the oldest publication on campus, established in 1882 as the Alamo and San Jacinto Monthly and renamed the Southwestern University Monthly in 1895. Currently published twice a year at the end of each semester, the magazine features student poetry, short stories, artwork, and photography.
SU Radio is an online radio station broadcasting music and student commentary in hour-long programming blocks. SU Radio
Traditions
SING! is a variety show hosted by Student Foundation during Homecoming featuring skits performed by members of student organizations on campus. The skits tend to be of a humorous nature and include singing and choreography. The participating organizations compete for awards decided by a panel of judges and audience ballots.Incoming students participate in Matriculation Convocation held during orientation week. The ceremony is sometimes informally referred to as "backwards graduation."
During their last semester, seniors climb the spiral staircase of Cullen Tower to sign the tower's walls, adding their signatures to those of former students from over 100 years ago.
The Barcus Society is a secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
that periodically appears at events on campus, often distributing free items emblazoned with the letter "B." The society revolves around Barcus, a masked character wearing a bowler hat
Bowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
, wire rimmed glasses, an old suit and vest, a gold pocket watch, and a black umbrella. Barcus's appearance is intended to resemble former Southwestern president James Samuel Barcus. Barcus arrives at most events in a yellow and black Model T and is usually flanked by robed students wearing sunglasses.
The Brooks Prize Debate is a yearly debate and oratory competition originally established by the university's literary societies
College literary societies (American)
College literary societies in American higher education were a distinctive kind of social organization, distinct from literary societies generally, and they were the precursors of college fraternities and sororities. In the period from the late eighteenth century to the Civil War, collegiate...
in 1878. It is named in honor of alumnus Richard Edward Brooks who established a monetary prize for the debate winners in 1904.
Mall Ball, held in both the spring and fall semesters, is a family-oriented outdoor festival held on the Academic Mall.
Candlelight Service is an Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
tradition held in the Perkins Chapel the week before fall final exams.
There are several traditions associated with final exams. 24-hour quiet hours are enforced in all on-campus housing during exam week except for a 10 minute period called Final Scream where students attempt to make as much noise as possible. An event called Late Night Breakfast held one night during finals week involves faculty serving free food to students.
Athletics
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference , founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas...
(SCAC). Southwestern competes in 18 sports, including basketball, cross country, track & field, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, men's baseball, men's lacrosse, women's volleyball and women's softball. Intramural sports on campus include handball, rock climbing, ultimate frisbee, and equestrian activities. The school mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is the pirate.
The men's lacrosse team became a varsity sport in 2009 after offering lacrosse as a club sport for 25 years. The men's lacrosse team won the Lonestar Alliance Division II Championship for four consecutive years prior to becoming a varsity sport. The women's team is currently non-varsity and is affiliated with the Texas Women's Lacrosse League, although the university plans to field a varsity team in 2014. The women's team won a division championships in 2007.
In addition to lacrosse, Southwestern has a nationally ranked handball team that won the Division II National Collegiate Championship in 2007.
Southwestern plans to reinstate football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
in 2013 after a 62 year hiatus. The university previously fielded football teams from 1908 to 1951, reaching national prominence during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when the university's participation in the Navy's
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
V-12 College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
enlisted talented players from other schools. Southwestern was a founding member of the Southwest Conference and won the Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
in 1944
1944 Sun Bowl
The 1944 Sun Bowl was the tenth edition of the annual postseason college football bowl game. The game was held at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas on January 1, 1944 with a crowd of approximately 18,000 spectators in attendance. The game featured the representing Southwestern University and the ...
and 1945
1945 Sun Bowl
The 1945 Sun Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game held at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas on January 1, 1945 with approximately 13,000 spectators in attendance. The game featured the representing Southwestern University and the representing the National Autonomous University of Mexico...
.
Contributors
Southwestern has had many financial and non-financial supporters, but some stand out by the magnitude or timeliness of their contributions. During the Great Depression, a conditional gift from Southwestern alumna Louisa Carothers Wiess substantially increased the university's endowment and motivated the university to pay off all its debts. While serving in Congress, Lyndon Baines Johnson helped Southwestern acquire the Navy V-12 Program during World War II at a time when the university was struggling financially. Former student Red McCombsRed McCombs
Billy Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...
contributed financial support for the campus center and an apartment complex. The Brown Foundation, Cullen Foundation, and Mabee Foundation have contributed financial support for multiple construction projects.
Notable alumni
- Harry AblesHarry AblesHarry Terrell Ables was a Major League Baseball pitcher for three seasons. Ables attended Southwestern University and played professionally for the St. Louis Browns in , the Cleveland Naps in , and the New York Highlanders in .-External links:...
– Major League Baseball pitcher - Jessie Daniel AmesJessie Daniel AmesJessie Daniel Ames was a civil rights activist in the Southern United States. She was one of the first Southern white women to speak out and work publicly against lynching of blacks, which were often done by white men as a misguided act of chivalry to protect their "virtue"...
– Civil rights activist - William Hawley AtwellWilliam Hawley AtwellWilliam Hawley Atwell was a United States federal judge.Born in Sparta, Wisconsin, Atwell received an A.B. and B.S. from Southwestern University in 1889, and an LL.B. from the University of Texas in 1891. He was in private practice in Dallas, Texas, from 1891 to 1898...
– U.S. District Court judge - Solon BarnettSolon BarnettSolon Barnett is a former offensive tackle and guard in the National Football League.-Career:Barnett was drafted in the fourteenth round of the 1945 NFL Draft by the Chicago Cardinals and would later be a member of the Green Bay Packers for two seasons. He played at the collegiate level at Baylor...
– Offensive tackle and guard for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
(1945-1946) - Hiram Abiff BoazHiram Abiff BoazHiram Abiff Boaz was the President of Polytechnic College from 1902 to 1911, and of Southern Methodist University from 1920 to 1922. He then became an American Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.-Biography:...
– Methodist Bishop and former president of SMUSouthern Methodist UniversitySouthern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church... - Joan BrayJoan BrayJoan Bray is a former teacher, journalist, and union leader. She was a Democratic member of both the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri State Senate . She resides with her husband, Carl Hoagland, in St. Louis, Missouri...
– State senator in Missouri - Pete CawthonPete CawthonPeter Willis Cawthon was the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team from 1930-1941.Cawthon graduated from Houston Central High School in 1917 and went on to attend Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. He lettered in baseball, football, and basketball during his freshman year...
– Head football coach and athletic director of the Texas Tech Red RaidersTexas Tech Red Raiders footballTexas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University . The team competes, as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association... - J. Frank DobieJ. Frank DobieJames Frank Dobie was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open range...
– Author - Bill EngvallBill EngvallWilliam Ray "Bill" Engvall, Jr. is an American comedian and actor best known for his work as a stand-up comic and as a member of the Blue Collar Comedy group.-Early life:Bill Engvall was born in Galveston, Texas...
– Stand-up comedian - Abbie GrahamAbbie GrahamAbbie Graham was a successful non-fiction author in the United States. This was a significant time, with many changes occurring in the rights of Women in the United States....
– Author - Stanley HauerwasStanley HauerwasStanley Hauerwas is a Christian theologian and ethicist. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame and is currently the Gilbert T...
– Theologian and ethicist - Jerry HardinJerry HardinJerry Hardin is an American actor who has made many television and film appearances. He played illegitimate heir, Wild Bill Westchester, in the failed 1982 television series Filthy Rich. One of his most recognizable roles was that of the character Deep Throat in the series The X-Files...
– Actor - Robert L. HenryRobert L. HenryRobert Lee Henry was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas from 1897 to 1917 .-Early life:...
– U.S. Congressman from Texas (1897–1917), Chairman of the House Rules Committee - J. Marvin JonesJohn Marvin JonesJudge John Marvin Jones was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas and Chief Judge of the federal Court of Claims.-Biography:...
– U.S. Congressman from Texas (1917–1940), U.S. Court of Claims Chief Judge - Carlton MasseyCarlton MasseyCarlton Massey was a professional American football defensive lineman and pro bowler who played for the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers . He attended Southwestern University and the University of Texas.He was drafted by the Browns in the 8th round in 1953 and participated in the...
– Defensive lineman and pro bowler for the Cleveland BrownsCleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
(1954-1958) - Earle Bradford MayfieldEarle Bradford MayfieldEarle Bradford Mayfield was a lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Overton, Texas who served in both the Texas State Senate and United States Senate....
– U.S. Senator from Texas (1923–1929) - John MurrellJohn Murrell (playwright)John Murrell, OC, AOE is an American-born Canadian playwright.Born in Lubbock, Texas, Murrel moved to Alberta after graduating from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas with a BFA in 1968. He moved to Canada to avoid the draft, studying at the University of Calgary...
– Canadian playwright and a member of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit... - Pete SessionsPete SessionsPeter Anderson Sessions is a politician from the state of Texas. He is a Republican, and currently represents the 32nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the current Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee-Personal:Sessions was born in Waco,...
– Current U.S. Congressman from Texas - Robert Simpson – Meteorologist, former director of the National Hurricane CenterNational Hurricane CenterThe National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...
, and co-developer of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane ScaleSaffir-Simpson Hurricane ScaleThe Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds... - William Angie SmithWilliam Angie SmithWilliam Angie Smith was a Bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1944.-Birth and Family:William was born 21 December 1894 in Elgin, Texas, the son of William Angie and Mary Smith. William married Bess Owens 20 July 1920...
– Methodist Bishop - Joseph Tyree Sneed, III – U.S. Court of Appeals judge
- Mike TimlinMike Timlin-Early life:Timlin was born in Midland, Texas to Jerome Francis Timlin Sr. and Nancy Sharon Beyer. Timlin graduated from Midland High School in Midland, Texas. He then attended and pitched at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta.-Baseball career...
– Major League Baseball pitcher - John TowerJohn TowerJohn Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...
– U.S. Senator from Texas (1961–1988)
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Williamson County, TexasNational Register of Historic Places listings in Williamson County, TexasList of Registered Historic Places in Williamson County, TexasThis is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Williamson County, Texas...
- Liberal arts colleges in the United StatesLiberal arts colleges in the United StatesLiberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
Further reading
- Jones, Ralph Wood (1973). Southwestern University 1840-1961. Austin: San Felipe Press.
- Jones, William B (2006). To Survive and Excel: The Story of Southwestern University, 1840-2000. ISBN 0967091241