SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY

'Sam Houston State University', (known as 'SHSU' and 'Sam', for short) founded in 1879, is a public university located in Huntsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first such institution of its type in the State of Texas and the southwestern United States. It is named for one of Texas' founding fathers, Sam Houston, who made his home in the city. The university is part of the Texas State University System and is a comprehensive, doctoral granting university enrolling approximately 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Contents

History

Campus

Academics

Academic subdivisions

Athletics

Campus Media

Notable alumni

Arts and media

Athletics

Politics and religion

Trivia

References

External links

History

Created by legislation signed by Governor Oran M. Roberts on April 21, 1879, Sam Houston Normal Institute's dedicated goal was to train teachers for the public schools of Texas—the first of its kind in the southwestern United States. On October 10 of the same year, the first class of 110 students and four faculty commenced instruction on the site of what had once been the campus of Austin College.
When the university first opened, students received a certification to teach in the state's elementary and secondary schools, but after 1919, the university began to award bachelor's degrees. In 1923, the school was renamed the Sam Houston State Teachers College. In 1936, the school awarded its first post-baccalaureate degree. In 1965, the school was renamed, again, to Sam Houston State College, and, finally, to Sam Houston State University in 1969.
The university celebrated its 125th year in 2004.
In April, 2007, Texas House Bill 1418 passed without objection in the Texas Legislature; the bill prevents the Texas State University System’s board of regents from changing SHSU’s name.

Campus

Sam Houston State University sits on 272 acres in the central area of Huntsville, TX. Recent construction of an expanded mall area of campus will include benches, tables, wireless internet, and more greenspace in the heart of campus. The mall area also includes two clock towers and a water fountain.

Academics

Sam's programs in criminal justice are particularly strong given the school's long relationship with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, headquartered in Huntsville, and the local state prison. Recently, the Department of History and School of Music are experiencing growth, the later attracting performers to its reputable music education program. Additionally, many students choose to go to Sam because of its traditional academic strength, its education program.
Recently, the university has become a leader in distance education, offering both bachelor's and master's degrees via the web in several areas, including history and criminal justice.
Currently (as of 12/2006), the university offers:

★ 79 undergraduate degree programs

★ 48 masters' programs

★ 5 doctoral programs (Criminal Justice, Educational Leadership, Counselor Education, Clinical Psychology, and Reading)

Academic subdivisions

Sam Houston State's academic departments and programs are organized into five colleges. Colleges at Sam Houston State University are:

★ College of Arts and Sciences

★ College of Business Administration

★ College of Criminal Justice

★ College of Education

★ College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Athletics

Sam Houston State's colors are orange and white and their nickname is the 'Bearkats'. Sam Houston State sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Championship Subdivision for football) in the Southland Conference. SHSU's primary rival is Stephen F. Austin State University and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other.
The Bearkats have had recent success with the men's and women's outdoor track teams capturing the Southland Conference titles in May 2005 at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. As a whole, the Sam Houston State athletic department captured the Southland Conference Commissioner's Cup in 2005, 2006, and 2007 for all-around athletic department and topped the Southland Conference for all-academic recognition. The kats are the only athletic department in the Southland Conference to get the Commissioner's Cup for 3 consecutive years.
Sam Houston's Bearkat is represented by the mascot team of Sammy and Samantha Bearkat who entertain and lead crowds in cheers during sporting events. Sammy's two minute routine earned him a national championship of the mascots division at the 2005 United Spirit Association Collegiate National Championship.

Campus Media

The SHSU School of Mass Communication operates KSHU, a student-run radio (90.5 FM) and television station (cable channel 7), broadcasting news, sports, and entertainment programming for the campus and community. The ''Houstonian'' is the student-published twice-weekly campus newspaper. Broadcast studios and offices for all three media are located within the Dan Rather Communication Building.

Notable alumni

Arts and media

★ Dana Andrews - Hollywood actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1963 to 1965

★ Roger Creager - Country-Western musician

★ Frank Q. Dobbs - Writer, producer and director of Western film dramas

★ Roy Hazelwood - FBI profiler and author

★ Richard Linklater - Oscar-nominated film director who attended SHSU

★ Debra Sue Maffett - Miss America, 1983; RTF major; now host of "The Harvest Show" on LeSea Broadcasting Network

★ Dan Rather - Newscaster (1953, B.A. Journalism)

★ Molly Louise Shepard - American playwright who attended SHSU in 1978 as an RTF major; 1979-80 as a theatre major; and transferred to the University of Texas at Dallas in 1980

★ Jack Tinsley - ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' executive editor who led the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes in the 1980s

Athletics

★ Walt Anderson - National Football League referee (1974)

★ Michael Bankston - professional football player Defensive Tackle 3rd round draft choice in 1991 by the Arizona Cardnials. Played ten years in the NFL for AZ, Wash., Cin.)

★ Kenneth Callaway - professional bull rider PRCA

★ Keith Davis - safety for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys

★ Lou "Skip, Sweet Lou, Sweetness" Ferrell - baseball (2001-2003)

★ Josh McCown - quarterback for the NFL's Oakland Raiders

★ Keith Heinrich - tight end for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers

★ Kenneth "The Spiral" Jackson- Set NCAA Division 1AA records by playing 11 different positions (C,LG,RG,LT,RT,TE,QB,DT,DE,HB,FB) (2004)

★ Ernie Koy - professional baseball player

★ Steve Sparks - professional baseball player (1987)

Politics and religion

★ Hiram Abiff Boaz - a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South

★ Borris L. Miles, member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 146[[1]]

★ Cecil J. Picard -- Louisiana educator, legislator, state superintendent of education (1996-2007)

★ Thaksin Shinawatra - former Prime Minister of Thailand (1979, Ph.D. in Criminal Justice)

Trivia

★ The ''Alcalde'' is the university's annual yearbook, published from 1910-1998 and 2003-present; it was named in honor of Texas Governor Oran Roberts whose nickname was "The Old Alcalde."^[1]

★ Contrary to an underground joke, repeated by alumnus Dan Rather in his autobiography, ''The Camera Never Blinks'' (page 17), the school was ''never'' known as "Sam Houston Institute of Teaching" or "Sam Houston Institute of Technology".

★ The campus stood in for the fictional Austin University in the motion picture ''The Life of David Gale''.

★ Huntsville is often referred to as "Huntsvegas" by attending students and many T-shirts from various social events bear the same nickname.

References

1. Alcalde

External links

★ Sam Houston State University

★ Sam Houston State University Athletics

★ Today@Sam - Sam Houston State University News

★ Sam Houston State University distance education

★ Sam Houston State University Graduate Studies

★ Sam Houston State University Newton Gresham Library

★ The Buildings of Sam Houston State University

★ Vivahuntsvegas.com - Independent Student Run Podcast News & Variety Show created by student Nick Pierson
→→