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,
Midwestern 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 Senior Vice President for Administration & 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 the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer 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
Ronald L. Hendrick, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President
Noel Sloan, J.D., CPA
Senior Vice President for Administration & Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Joseph Heppert, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research & Innovation, Professor of Chemistry
Carol Sumner, Ed.D.
Vice President for the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity
Officer
Texas Tech University System Chancellor/Board of Regents
Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D.
Chancellor
Regents
Term Expires January 31, 2023
J. Michael Lewis, Chair.............Dallas
John D. Steinmetz.....................Dallas
John B. Walker..........................Houston
Term Expires January 31, 2025
Mark Griffin, Vice Chair..........Lubbock
Ginger Kerrick Davis...............Webster
Dusty Womble........................Lubbock
Term Expires January 31, 2027
Arcilia Acosta............................Dallas
Cody Campbell.........................Fort Worth
Pat Gordon...............................El Paso
Student Regent
Term Expires May 31, 2022
Keaghan Holt...........................Seguin, Texas
Texas Tech University Academic Officers
Cindy Akers, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources;
Professor of Agricultural Education and Communications
Urs Peter Flueckiger, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, College of Architecture;
Professor of Architecture
Michael San Francisco, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, College of Arts & Sciences;
Professor of Biology
Margaret L. Williams, Ph.D.
Dean, Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration;
Professor of Management
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
Mark Sheridan, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs;
Dean, Graduate School;
Professor of Biology
Aliza Wong, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, Honors College;
Professor of History
Tim Dodd, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Human Sciences;
Professor of Hospitality Management
Jack Nowlin, J.D., Ph.D.
Dean, School of Law;
Professor of Law
Earnstein Dukes, M.L.S.
Dean of Libraries
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
Guy H. Loneragan, BVSc, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Veterinary Medicine
Official Publications
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Address
Texas Tech Downtown Center Room 220 -
Email
officialpublications@ttu.edu