Texas Woman's University

For the historical Texas Woman's College in Fort Worth, Texas, see Texas Wesleyan University.

Texas Woman's University
Established	1901 (1901)
Type	Public
President	Dr. Ann Stuart
Undergraduates	8,496
Postgraduates	5,680
Location	Denton Dallas Houston, Texas, U.S.
Campus	Suburban, 270 acres (1.09 km²)
Colors	Maroon and White
Mascot	Pioneer
Website	www.twu.edu

Texas Woman's University (historically the College of Industrial Arts and Texas State College for Women, commonly known as TWU) is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas. While male students are accepted into all programs, the school is better known as the largest state-supported university for women in the United States. TWU’s nursing doctoral program is the largest in the world.^[1] In 2011, Texas Woman's University was ranked among best U.S. colleges for undergraduates by Forbes.

TWU is one of only four "independent" public universities in Texas (i.e., not affiliated with any of Texas' five public university systems).

History

Texas Woman's University was originally established in 1901 by an act of the Texas Legislature as the Girls Industrial College, opening its doors in 1903 and conferring its first degrees in 1904. The college changed its name in 1905 to the College of Industrial Arts and Sciences (CIA) and offered programs in a variety of liberal arts, fine arts, and science programs. The school underwent another name change in 1934 to the Texas State College for Women (TSCW) to reflect its growing reputation as a premiere institution of higher education for women in the state. In 1950, TSCW became the first nationally accredited nursing program in the state, and in 1956 pioneered the first building dedicated to the instruction of library sciences. In 1957, the school changed its name for the fourth and final time to Texas Woman's University.

During 1972, it began accepting men into its health sciences graduate school. Due to public pressure, in 1994, the school opened all of its programs to qualified men.

Campus

Lowry Woods Apartments is the designated family housing unit.^[2] The 168 unit facility is, as of 2011, the newest residential facility at TWU. The complex has mainly two and three bedroom apartments. It can house up to 308 people.^[3] The complex is within the Denton Independent School District.^[4] is zoned to Denton High School.^[5] It is zoned to Evers Elementary School,^[6] Calhoun Middle School,^[7] and Denton High School.^[8]

Academics

Texas Woman's University Houston Center

The school is presently divided into five colleges:

1. College of Arts and Sciences encompasses the School for the Arts which supports programs in music, art and dance and the School of Management, which confers business degrees including the M.B.A.. The bulk of the college is academic departments including English, Speech, and Foreign Languages, Psychology and Philosophy, History and Government, Chemistry and Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, Sociology and Social Work, and other liberal arts programs awarding undergraduate degrees through the college.
2. College of Professional Education encompasses Departments of Family Sciences, Reading and Teacher Education, and the School of Library & Information Studies.
3. College of Health Sciences is supported at the Houston and Dallas campuses and includes the Schools of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. Programs in Health Care Administration and Nutrition are also included in this college.
4. College of Nursing was established in 1954, and is the 5th oldest Doctoral program in Nursing in the United States. TWU’s College of Nursing is the largest in Texas and the 11th largest in the U.S. TWU’s nursing doctoral program is the largest in the world.^[9] The College of Nursing offers programs on the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral level. In addition to the generic Bachelor of Science program for students with no prior degree, there is a weekend program for students who already have a Bachelor's Degree; the school also has a Registered Nurse to Baccalaureate program (RN to BS) and a Registered Nurse to Master's Program (RN to MS). The school is very competitive with the cut off GPA frequently at 4.0. The College of Nursing has campuses in Houston and Dallas.
5. Graduate School functions as a separate unit of the university. It was originally established in response to the increased demand for woman's graduate education. The Graduate School processes graduate admissions to the university and subsequent academic affairs, including degrees in a variety of liberal arts programs.

The Woman's Collection and Women's Studies

The second floor of Blagg-Huey Library houses "The Woman's Collection". Established in 1932 by the Library at the suggestion of then-president L.H. Hubbard to inspire the women students, the collection now has 42,000 books, 3,000 manuscripts, 19,000 photographs, and 2,000 periodicals.

Highlights of the Woman's Collection include the WASP Archival Collection which features one of the largest repositories of women in aviation in the world, housing the history of Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, the Whirly-Girls International Helicopter Pilots, Women Military Aviators, and others. Other major archives include the cookbook collection which showcases culinary arts from around the world and is one of the largest collections in the United States, and the University collection containing history of the university. The Woman's Collection is the official repository for thousands of organizations, agencies, and conferences in Texas and the southwest concerned with women's rights, agency, and status.

The Woman's Collection also contains information on the 1981 exhibit about Texas women's history. Originally produced by the Texas Foundation for Women's Resources, the exhibit is permanently housed at TWU.

Many well known women regularly visit Texas Woman's University. Sarah Weddington has lectured and/or taught courses since the early 1980s. United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and United States Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson have participated in leadership conferences encouraging people to become more aware of women and their leadership issues. Currently, Ret. Major General Mary Saunders, who graduated from TWU in 1970 and became the highest ranking African-American woman in the United States Air Force, serves as director of the university's Leadership Institute. Recent guest speakers to the Denton campus have included Gloria Steinem, Frances "Sissy" Farenthold, and others.

Hubbard Hall, the former central dining facility, now contains the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. This state-established exhibit honors Texas women who make significant public contributions to the state.

Texas Woman's University is unique among Texas higher education institutions. It requires all undergraduates regardless of their proposed/intended degree to take three hours of multicultural women's studies in order to graduate. At the graduate level it offers both a M.A. and PhD in women's studies. The women's studies department makes excellent use of the library and other institutional resources, receiving full faculty encouragement throughout the university. The chair is Claire L. Sahlin.

Attractions

Little Chapel in the Woods, Texas Woman's University, Denton

TWU Art Collection

The University Art Collection supports through annual acquisitions the work of TWU students, alumni, faculty and staff. The result is a rich display of artwork that can be toured online or when visiting the TWU campus.

Little Chapel-in-the-Woods

Built in 1939 and dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods was named one of Texas’ most outstanding architectural achievements. University students designed and created the building’s artwork, including stained glass windows, lighting, woodwork and flooring. The windows depict scenes of women ministering to human needs including nursing, teaching, speech, literature, dance and music. The Chapel has seen many weddings. The TWU original bridal book contains thousand of names of couples who were married between the years 1939 and 1979 in the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods. The Bridal Book is on display at the Blagg-Huey Library.

Texas First Ladies Historic Costume Collection

This exhibit is housed in the Administration Conference Tower. Within the collection there are replicated versions and original dresses worn to the Governor's Inaugural Ball. Each dress has been loaned or donated by various sources to the University. Most dresses come from local Texas chapters of Daughters of the American Revolution or directly from the First Ladies themselves.

Golf course and fitness and recreation facilities

TWU has the only public golf course in Denton. The state of the art Fitness and Recreation center is also available to the public. Facilities include indoor and outdoor pools, a rock wall, tennis courts, handball courts, and exercise equipment.

Athletics

TWU Pioneers have NCAA Division II programs in basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, and gymnastics. The Pioneers compete in the Lone Star Conference, but only in female sports.

The TWU Gymnastics squad has won the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships with a record nine team championships since 1993, with the most recent championship in 2008. The team finished second overall in 2010, in addition to squad members winning four out of the five individual titles.

Student publications and media

The Lasso is a student-produced weekly newspaper which was produced by the Mass Communications program and other interested students. Initially a daily, it switched to a weekly format in the 1990s. The Lasso moved from the School of Library and Information Studies to the Department of English, Speech and Foreign Languages in spring 2006. In summer 2011 the student-run newspaper moved to the Office of Student Life.

A yearbook, The Dadaelian, was published by the Mass Communications program until 1979. The declining levels of traditional college students was the factor in the book's discontinuation. Because they were the most likely group to be involved with and purchase the books, it was difficult to justify production. A 1986 attempt to reinstate yearbooks with The Pioneer failed.

Energy efficiency

In 2009 the university started a campaign towards greater energy efficiency. The university installed utiliVisor to reduce energy spent air conditioning their facilities. Texas Woman's University now monitors and reduces their energy consumption in real time. ^[10]

Greek life

Fraternities

• Phi Beta Sigma
• Phi Iota Beta
• Sigma Alpha Iota (Music Fraternity For Women)
• Kappa Sigma

Sororities

• Alpha Omicron Pi
• Alpha Gamma Delta
• Sigma Sigma Sigma
• Alpha Kappa Alpha
• Delta Sigma Theta
• Zeta Phi Beta
• Sigma Gamma Rho
• Alpha Theta Omega
• Sigma Lambda Alpha
• Phi Upsilon Omicron
• Sigma Lambda Gamma

Notable alumnae

• Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash (M.S. 1979) a.k.a. Mrs. Anthrax, studied microbiology and went on to become a high-ranking Iraqi scientist. After surrendering herself in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, she was later deemed not a security threat and was released in 2005.
• Caro Crawford Brown (B.A. 1925) was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.
• Millie Hughes-Fulford (Ph.D. 1972) was a NASA astronaut who studied osteoporosis. She flew aboard STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS 1) in June 1991, the first Spacelab mission dedicated to biomedical studies. She was the first civilian scientist on a space mission.
• Jill Marie Jones (B.A. 1999) is an actress, most recognizable role as 'Toni Childs' for six seasons in Girlfriends.
• Margaret Virginia (Margo) Jones (B.A. 1932) and (M.A. 1933) was a pioneer in the American Resident Theater Movement and author of "Theatre-In-The-Round". In 1955 she directed the world premiere of "Inherit the Wind" by Lawrence and Lee in Dallas.
• Alia M. Ludlum(B.A. 1983) served as District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
• Maxine Mesinger (gossip columnist for the Houston Chronicle)^[11]
• Elizabeth Ann Nalley (Ph.D. 1975) was President of the American Chemical Society in (2006).
• Louise Ritter (B.S. 1982) won the 1988 Olympic gold medal in the women's high jump.
• Lou Halsell Rodenberger (B.S. 1943 in journalism) was a scholar of Texas women authors, particularly Jane Gilmore Rushing.
• Kaye Stripling (B.S. 1962) became superintendent of HISD when Rod Paige was nominated to serve as United States Secretary of Education in 1994. She left the post in 2004.
• Joan Wall (M.M. 1969) was a mezzo-soprano and principal performer at the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and in Amsterdam, Boston, Philadelphia, Fort Worth and other US cities.

References

1. ^ http://www.twu.edu/twunews/press_releases/08holdenhuchton.htm
2. ^ "Family Housing." Texas Woman's University. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
3. ^ "Lowry Woods Community." Texas Woman's University. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
4. ^ "Family Housing." Texas Woman's University. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
5. ^ "Denton Campus Map." (Map) Texas Woman's University. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
6. ^ "2011-2012 Elementary School Attendance Zones." Denton Independent School District. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
7. ^ "2011-2012 Middle School Attendance Zones." Denton Independent School District. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
8. ^ "2011-2012 High School Attendance Zones." Denton Independent School District. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
9. ^ http://www.twu.edu/twunews/press_releases/08holdenhuchton.htm
10. ^ TDSpirit (Winter 2009). [http://www.tdindustries.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=3_3_oGB7mSc%3D&tabid=89&mid=632 "Texas Woman’s University Cuts Utility Costs in Real Time With TD’s utiliVisor®"]. http://www.tdindustries.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=3_3_oGB7mSc%3D&tabid=89&mid=632. 
11. ^ "Maxine Mesinger Papers, 1965-2001." University of Houston. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.

• http://www.twu.edu/alumni/

External links

	Dallas portal
	University portal

• Texas Woman's University
• Student Reviews of TWU
• Texas Woman's University on DentonWiki