Lamar University

Infobox University
name = Lamar University

| motto = Texas Roots. Infinite Possibilities.
established = September 17, 1923
type = Public
head_label = President
head = (Jimmy) James Simmons
city = Beaumont
state = Texas
country = USA
undergrad = 10,000
postgrad =
postgrad_label =
faculty =
campus =
former_names = South Park Junior College (1923-32)
Lamar College (1932-49)
Lamar State College of Technology (1949-70)
nickname = Cardinals
mascot =
website = [http://www.lamar.edu/ www.lamar.edu]

Lamar University is a four-year university located in Beaumont, Texas, and a member of The Texas State University System. As of Fall 2008, the university had an enrollment of 13,469 students, up 31.9 percent from fall 2007.

History

Lamar University first started on September 17, 1923, as South Park Junior College. The junior college began operations on the unused third floor of the newly constructed South Park High School (now South Park Middle School). South Park Junior College became the first college in Texas to receive Texas Department of Education approval during the first year of operation, and became fully accredited in 1925.

In about 1932, recognizing that the junior college had grown beyond serving a small portion of the city of Beaumont, and was now serving the region, the college renamed itself Lamar College, after Mirabeau B. Lamar. The next year, the separation of the college from South Park High School began with construction of new facilities. By 1942, the college was completely independent of the South Park school district, and operations moved to the current campus.

With the end of World War II, an influx of veterans boosted enrollment, and the Lamar board of trustees decided to ask the Texas Legislature to promote Lamar College to a four-year state college. The initial attempt in 1947, led by Texas Representative Jack Brooks failed, but the following year the necessary bill passed both houses. On June 14, 1949, Governor Beauford Jester signed the bill creating Lamar State College of Technology, with the new entity to focus on engineering and science, an emphasis that continues today.

The college's enrollment continued to grow throughout the 1950s and 1960s, reaching 10,000 students, but in the 1970s enrollment plateaued. In 1969, Lamar State College opened its first branch in Orange, Texas. In 1970, Lamar State College began offering its first doctoral program, the Doctor of Engineering, and in 1971 the college's name was officially changed to Lamar University.

In 1975, the university merged with Port Arthur College in Port Arthur, Texas, creating Lamar University-Port Arthur. In 1983, state Senator Carl Parker sponsored a bill creating the Lamar University System, and in 1986, Lamar University-Orange and Lamar University-Port Arthur were granted accreditation separate from the main campus. Lamar Institute of Technology was created in 1990 to provide technical, business, health and industrial education through programs two years or less in length.

In 1995, the Lamar University System was incorporated into the Texas State University System, with the Lamar State College - Orange, Lamar State College - Port Arthur and Lamar Institute of Technology campuses becoming separate entities within the system. Since the reorganization, Lamar University's enrollment has continually increased, and numerous construction projects have revitalized or replaced old buildings.

Campus

The Lamar University campus is located on Martin Luther King Boulevard, near U.S. Highway 69, in the southeast part of Beaumont, Texas. Facilities include the 10,000 seat Montagne Center arena, and the eight story Mary and John Gray Library. Lamar is also home to the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (better known as TALH), a dual-credit high school program created for gifted and talented high school students in their junior and senior years.

In the late 1990s, Lamar began undertaking campus improvement projects. Most buildings on the campus dated to the late 1960s and 70s and had deteriorated since. Many older buildings in the northern part of the campus were gutted and refinished one-by-one.

In 2001, the University began replacing its 1960s-vintage residence halls with new apartment-style housing facilities, dubbed "Cardinal Village" (the cardinal is the school mascot). Older campus housing facilities have been demolished as the Cardinal Village complex has expanded to meet demand. Demand for on-campus housing has risen, coinciding with the opening of the new residence halls. Cardinal Village II & III were built specifically to meet these demands. As of January 2006, a new gourmet food court style dining hall was opened to provide students with a wider selection of dining opportunities [http://www.lamar.edu/newsevents/articles/221_3560.htm] .

In March 2005, the McDonald Gym temporarily closed. The gym underwent extensive renovation and a new recreational sports center was built adjacent to it. The $19 million center, named the Sheila Umphrey Recreational Sports Center, opened in April 2007. [http://www.lamar.edu/announce/student_rec/popup1.htm] . The convert|129500|ft|m|sing=on facility includes convert|13000|sqft|m2 of cardiovascular and free-weight training; a one-tenth-mile indoor walking/jogging track; a convert|43|ft|m|sing=on climbing wall; basketball, volleyball and badminton courts; racquetball, handball and squash courts; a wellness and fitness center; health food café and juice bar; lounge areas with pool tables; an outdoor putting green; and air hockey, foosball, video games and TV.

In August 2007, the University completed construction on Cardinal Village IV, a $16-million expansion of its state-of-the-art residence halls. The new expansion brings the number of beds on campus to more than 2,000. [http://www.lamar.edu/newsevents/newsarchive_over0030/2193_5013.htm] .

Athletics

Lamar University is a member of the Southland Conference, participating in men and women's basketball, golf, track & field, cross-country, tennis, women's soccer and volleyball, and baseball. Though Lamar no longer has a football program, the program's signature win came on September 5, 1981, in an 18-17 win over the UPI #20 ranked Baylor Bears under Head Coach Larry Kennan. This would be the first time that a Division 1-AA team defeated a Division 1-A ranked opponent. The football program was dropped in 1989, largely due to budget overruns and declining attendance. Lamar University still holds the Southland Conference record for the most championships in football. Lamar is currently in the process of bringing football back to the university. A likely timetable to begin Southland Conference competition is Fall 2010.

The proposed re-introduction of the football team would be funded by an increase in student tuition fees. Under the current plan, the football team would not arrive until 2010. [Citation | title = Football Team Fees | official web site = Lamar University Web Site | date = December 04, 2007 | url = http://www.lamar.edu/newsevents/newsarchive_over0030/2193_5895.htm] On January 30, 2008, 78% of Lamar students voted to approve the athletics fee required for football's resurrection. Under the current plan, the university would not play conference games until 2011, although it may play a full schedule of exhibition games in 2010. Regents of The Texas State University System approved the athletics fee to reinstate football at its regular meeting February 20. On May 19, 2008, Ray Woodard was chosen as head coach for the football program. [Citation | title = Football Head Coach Chosen | official web site = Lamar University Web Site | date = May 19, 2008 | url = http://lamarcardinals.cstv.com/genrel/051908aaa.html]

During the late 70's and early 80's Lamar boasted a strong basketball program that included trips to post season tournaments and an 80-game home court winning streak. The Lamar men's basketball program will defend a 13-game home win streak at the beginning of the 2008 season.

Conference and national championships

Southland Conference
*Baseball – 1971, '75, '76, '77, '79, '81, '84, '85, '03, '04
*Men's Basketball – 1964, '70, '78, '79, '80, '81, '83, '84, '00
*Football – 1964, '65, '66, '71
*Men's Golf – 1964, '65, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, '81, '82, '83, '85, '86, '87, '01, '02, '03
*Men's Track & Field – 1971, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86
*Men's Tennis – 1967, '73, '74, '75, '76
*Women's Tennis – 1983, '84
*Volleyball – 1983, '84, '01

Sun Belt Conference
*Baseball – 1993
*Women's Basketball – 1992
*Women's Golf – 1993, '94, '95, ‘96
*Volleyball – 1993, '97

Lone Star Conference
*Men's Basketball – 1961, '62, '63
*Football – 1954
*Men's Golf – 1953, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60, '61, '62, '63
*Men's Tennis – 1952, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60, '61, '62, '63
*Men's Track & Field – 1963

American South Conference
*Women's Basketball – 1991
*Women's Tennis – 1988
*Men's Track & Field – 1988, '89
*Women's Track & Field – 1992
*Volleyball – 1987, '90

NAIA National Championships
*Men's Tennis – 1955, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60
*Men's Golf – 1956, '57, '58, '59, '60

NCAA College Division National Championships
*Men's Golf – 1967, '68

All-Americans
*Men's & Women's Track & Field – 39
*Men's Basketball – 3
*Women's Basketball – 1
*Men's Golf – 9
*Women's Golf – 5
*Men's & Women's Tennis – 18
*Volleyball – 1

Notable alumni

* John Alexander - Artist
* Kelly Asbury - Film Director, Screenwriter, Voice Actor, Children's Book Author/Illustrator, Non-Fiction Author
* Bruce Aven - retired Major League Baseball player
* Brinkley Bass - Naval aviator
* G.W. Bailey - actor
* Jack Brooks - Politician, served more than 40 years in the U.S. House of Representatives
* Keith Carter - Photographer
* [http://www.cutler-tech.com/index.html Charles Cutler] - inventor of Model-based Multi-variable Process Control
* Trevor Dodds - Namibian golfer
* [http://www.garrett.com/company.asp Charles Garrett] - inventor of metal detectors for security purposes as well as treasure hunters
* Clay Hensley - Pitcher, San Diego Padres
* Janis Joplin - Musician
* Nick Lampson - Politician, Served in the U.S. House of Representatives from two Texas districts
* Danny Mason -- Golfing coach at Texas Tech University, 1969-1980
* Wayne Moore -- retired NFL player
* Bill Macatee - TV Sports Announcer
* Kevin Millar - MLB World Champion, Boston Red Sox; currently with Baltimore Orioles
* Bill Paradoski / Huston - Mass Communications, 1973; retired award winning TV News Director & Anchor at KFDM 6 and KBMT 12 (where he hired Bill MacAtee) in Beaumont, KARK 4 in Little Rock, WNGE 2 in Nashville, and KRBC TV in Abilene
* Bum Phillips - former NFL coach
* James C. Ronning- Professor, psychologist, writer, columnist, and CEO of Psychometrics of North America
* Colin Ridgeway - former NFL player, first Australian to play in the NFL.
* Brian Sanches - Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies
* Dan Smith - BS Chemical Engineer, former President & CEO Lyondell Chemical Company
* Eric Thomas - Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Norfolk
* Billy Tubbs - College Basketball Coach
* Jen Wyatt - Canadian LPGA golfer
* Reese Cook - Civil Engineer, Sigma Phi Delta alumni, intramural All-Star, & just all around awesome
* [http://www.johnevansband.net/jebland/index.html John Evans] -Singer/Songwriter and last LU quarterback before the football program was dropped in 1989

ee also

* Al Vincent - Major League baseball coach
* Governor's School of Texas - a 3 week program for gifted high school students funded by the state of Texas.

References

External links

* [http://www.lamar.edu/ Lamar University]
* [http://www.lamarcardinals.com/ Official Lamar Athletics Homepage]
* [http://www.setxsports.com/ Lamar Athletics Message Board]