General Information
University Mission Statement
As a public research university, Texas Tech advances knowledge through innovative and creative teaching, research, and scholarship. The university is dedicated to student success by preparing learners to be ethical leaders for a diverse and globally competitive workforce. The university is committed to enhancing the cultural and economic development of the state, nation, and world.
Campuses
Texas Tech University is the largest institution of the Texas Tech University System. More than 38,000 students attend classes in Lubbock on the 1,839-acre campus. The university also operates the Research Center-East Campus (Lubbock); Texas Tech University Farm at Pantex in the Texas Panhandle; research facilities at Reese Technology Center (west of Lubbock); agricultural field laboratories at New Deal; Texas Tech University Center at Junction (411-acre educational facility in the Texas Hill Country); and off-campus educational sites at El Paso, Fredericksburg, Highland Lakes, Waco, Collin County, and Johnson County.
History
Texas Tech University was created by legislative action in 1923 and has the distinction
of being the largest comprehensive higher education institution in the western two-thirds
of the state of Texas. The university is the major institution of higher education
in a region larger than 46 of the nation's 50 states and is the only campus in Texas
that is home to a major university, law school, and medical school.
Originally named Texas Technological College, the college opened in 1925 with six
buildings and an enrollment of 914. Graduate instruction began in 1927 within the
School of Liberal Arts. A "Division of Graduate Studies" was established in 1935 and
eventually became known as the Graduate School in 1954.
By action of the Texas State Legislature, Texas Technological College formally became
Texas Tech University on September 1, 1969. At that time the schools of Agricultural
Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, and
Home Economics also became known as "colleges." Architecture became a college in 1986.
Two colleges changed their names in 1993 to reflect the broadening fields each serves:
the College of Agricultural Sciences became the College of Agricultural Sciences &
Natural Resources, and the College of Home Economics became the College of Human Sciences.
The Honors College was established in 1998, and the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College
of Visual & Performing Arts opened in 2002. Media & Communication became a college
in 2004.
The Texas State Legislature authorized funds in 1965 for establishing the Texas Tech
University School of Law, and the Law School's first dean was appointed in 1966. The
first class of 72 students enrolled in 1967. The Law School was approved by the American
Bar Association in 1970 and is fully accredited by the Supreme Court of Texas (1968)
and the Association of American Law Schools (1969).
As a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Texas Tech began competing
in the Big 12 Conference in 1996 after a 35-year membership in the former Southwest
Conference.
Texas Tech was first accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
in 1928 and has been accredited continuously since that time. Texas Tech University
was selected to shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter in 2006.
The presidents of Texas Tech have been Paul Whitfield Horn (1925-1932), Bradford Knapp
(1932-1938), Clifford Bartlett Jones (1938-1944), William Marvin Whyburn (1944-1948),
Dossie Marion Wiggins (1948-1952), Edward Newlon Jones (1952-1959), Robert Cabaniss
Goodwin (1960-1966), Grover Elmer Murray (1966-1976), Maurice Cecil Mackey Jr., (1976-1979),
Lauro Fred Cavazos (1980-1988), Robert W. Lawless (1989-1996), Donald R. Haragan (1996-2000),
David J. Schmidly (2000-2002), Jon Whitmore (2003-2008), Guy Bailey (2008-2012), M.
Duane Nellis (2013-2016), and Lawrence E. Schovanec (2016-present).
The Texas Tech University School of Medicine was created by the 61st Legislature in
1969 as a multi-campus institution with Lubbock as the administrative center and with
regional campuses in Amarillo, El Paso, and the Permian Basin. In 1979, the charter
was expanded, and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center was created with
the addition of the School of Nursing, the School of Health Professions, and the Graduate
School of Biomedical Sciences.
With the creation of the Texas Tech University System in 1996, the Texas Tech University
Health Sciences Center became a separate university. Today, it consists of Schools
of Medicine, Nursing, Allied Health, and Pharmacy, and a Graduate School of Biomedical
Sciences.
In 2007, Angelo State University in San Angelo joined the Texas Tech University System.
The school was founded in 1928 as a two-year college and began offering four-year
degrees in 1965.
In 2013, the Texas Legislature approved the creation of Texas Tech University Health
Sciences Center at El Paso as the System's fourth institution. TTUHSC at El Paso hosts
the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine and the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing.
Organizational Structure
A nine-member Board of Regents governs Texas Tech University, Angelo State University,
and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centers in Lubbock and El Paso. The
Governor of the State of Texas appoints the Regents to six-year terms. The terms of
office of three Regents expire every two years. The governance, control, and direction
of the university are vested in the Regents who in turn appoint a Chancellor to carry
out the policies of the system as determined by the Regents. The Chancellor appoints
a president of each institution in the system. The presidents are chief executive
officers of their respective institutions and are responsible for the strategic operation
of each institution. The President of Texas Tech University is supported by a Provost
and Senior Vice President who oversees the educational programs of the university;
a Vice President for Administration and Finance who is responsible for the fiscal
operations of the university and the physical plant; a Vice President for Research
who directs the research efforts of the university; and a Vice President for Institutional
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion who supports the institution's strategic diversity
goals by providing programs, services, and resources.
Texas Tech University consists of the Graduate School; School of Law; Honors College;
and the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Architecture, Arts
& Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Human Sciences, Media & Communication,
and Visual & Performing Arts. Each college is administered by a dean and consists
of a number of instructional departments or areas.
Office of the President
Lawrence E. Schovanec, Ph.D.
President
Professor of Mathematics and Statistics
Michael L. Galyean, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President
Horn Professor of Animal and Food Sciences
Noel Sloan, J.D., CPA
Vice President for Administration & Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Joseph Heppert, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research, Professor of Chemistry
Carol Sumner, Ed.D.
Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Texas Tech University System Chancellor/Board of Regents
Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D.
Chancellor
Regents
Term Expires January 31, 2021
Ronnie "Ron" Hammonds...............Houston
Christopher M. Huckabee, Chair......Fort Worth
Mickey L. Long.............................Lubbock
Term Expires January 31, 2023
J. Michael Lewis, Vice Chair.........Dallas
John D. Steinmetz.....................Dallas
John B. Walker..........................Houston
Term Expires January 31, 2025
Mark Griffin............................Lubbock
Ginger Kerrick........................Webster
Dusty Womble........................Lubbock
Student Regent
Term Expires May 31, 2021
Brooke Walterscheid........................Muenster, Texas
Texas Tech University Academic Officers
Mark Sheridan, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs; Dean, Graduate School;
Professor of Biology
Jack Nowlin, J.D., Ph.D.
Dean, School of Law;
W. Frank Newton Professor of Law
William F. Brown, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources;
Professor of Animal and Food Sciences
Jim Williamson, M.Arch.
Dean and Professor, College of Architecture
Michael San Francisco, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences;
Professor of Biology
Margaret L. Williams, Ph.D.
Dean, Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration
Jesse Perez Mendez, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Education; Professor of Education
Al Sacco, Jr., Ph.D.
Dean, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering;
Professor of Chemical Engineering
Aliza S. Wong, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, Honors College;
Professor of Honors and History
Tim Dodd, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Human Sciences;
Professor of Hospitality Management
David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Media & Communication;
Professor of Journalism and Creative Media Industries/
Public Relations
Genevieve Durham DeCesaro, M.F.A.
Interim Dean, J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of
Visual & Performing Arts; Professor of Theatre and Dance
Earnstein Dukes, M.L.S.
Dean of Libraries
Official Publications
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Address
Texas Tech Downtown Center Room 220 -
Email
officialpublications@ttu.edu