The beginning

First colleges
Harvard University is recognized as being the oldest college in the United States. It
wasn't until a little over 200 years later that the first university was funded in the state of Texas.
Rutersville College was the first institution of higher education in Texas. It was founded in 1840
and was named after Martin Ruter, a Methodist missionary who wrote the schools charter and
raised the fund to establish the institution. By 1845 the school began to struggle for students due
to several reasons such as attacks by Indians, the Mexican American War and the opening of
Baylor University. Since its opening in 1845, Baylor University is the oldest continuously
operating institution in the state of Texas as well as one of the first educational institutions west
of the Mississippi River. Soule University was also known Chapel Hill Male and Female
Institute". Chapel Hill was a private informally established institution in 1856 and was supposed
to succeed Rutersville College. Another of the first institutions in Texas was Mckenzie College.
Mckenzie had humble beginnings. Funded by John W.P. Mckenzie in a log cabin and offering
high school work only, the institution went on to become the largest college in Texas for several
years. Mckenzie was a Methodist institution and at one point trained almost all Methodist
ministers of the period (Handbook of Texas Online). Eventually, all of these failing institutions
merged into what is now called Southwestern University and continued the charter of
Rutersville, Baylor, Soule, and Mckenzie College. As with most of the institutions in the early
days, religion was a big part of the first colleges in Texas.
1876

1876 was an important year for the state of Texas had the most breakthroughs in Higher
Education. One of them was the establishment of the Morill Land Grant Act. This act was
funding schools all over the country. One of the institutions that were started through this grant

was the Agricultural and Mechanical College. Almost a century later the school would eventually
be renamed to Texas A&M University. Keeping "A" and "M" as a link to its from agricultural
and mechanical past. In 1876, another important development in higher education in Texas was
the creation of the Permanent University Fund. This fund was created to support higher
education within the state. At one point, Permanent University Funds were the main source of
income for universities such as the Univesrity of Texas in Ausitn, now days, the revienues of that
institution fund account for less than 20 percent the univerities annual budget. The final
advancement of the year was the funding of Alta Vista Agricultural College as an "Agricultural
and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth" as part of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M). While the Universitys original curriculum was
meant to train and prepare the students to be teachers, due to several financial issues, the
university eventually added an agricultural and mechanical department, an academic hall and an
experiment station.
Black Colleges
Black students struggled to get the right of an education in Texas even after the civil war.
Beginning with the Constitution of 1866, laws were written barring blacks from voting, holding
public office, and serving on juries. Laws segregating public facilities, such as railroad cars,
theaters, restaurants and hotels, also appeared (Heintze). Therefore, people from Texans
disagreed with the idea of giving blacks their right of obtaining higher education. The first black
college established in Texas was Paul Quinn College in 1872, however, it wasn't until 1878 that
the state of Texas actually supported the education of African American's by funding Prairie
View State Normal School. Since then, black colleges have been an important part of the history

of higher education in Texas since the students those institutions have educated have made
significant contributions to society.
Oil Boom
As early as 1827, even before any mention of Rutersville College, the University of Texas was
mentioned in the constitution of the Mexican state of Coahuila. However, due to several funding
issues, the University of Texas finally opened its doors in 1881. The university finally had its big
break through the discovery of oil in its land. Since then, the In 1901, the Texas Legislature
authorized UT Austin to "sell, lease and otherwise control" oil and mineral rights for PUF land.
Since then, the university has been growing and expanding, this has been particularly true since
the discovery of oil in university owned lands. To this day, colleges and universities across the
state of Texas, University of Texas and Texas A&M in particular, continue to rip the benefits
from oil revenue in lands owned by the institutions. In present day, there have been a rise in the
number of institutions that want a "piece of the the PUF pie" sort of speak and have resorted to
the point of merging with other institutions so they can qualify to for the PUF funds. This type
of revenue is something that most institutions across the country would be eager to have, but
unfortunately have not been so lucky.
The Great Depression
During the 1830's, there was not much advancement in higher education in Texas due to the great
depression. Just as the societies as a whole was suffering the effects of the great depression, so
were institutions who were being forced to reduced teachers salaries. In addition, private
colleges at the time, who relied heavily on tuition, were forced to take other methods of payment
such as produce, livestock, etc in order to keep the operating. An upside to this desperate

measure by colleges was that this gave children of farmers, an opportunity to attend college by
making payments by paying with produce instead of cash.
A big break for higher education in Texas came through the National Youth Administration
which was part of the 1930's New Deal Program enacted by President Roosevelt. This program
was similar to the current work-study program, in which students were able to pay their way
through college by working a variety of jobs through the program. Without these programs,
during the great depression, it would have been very difficult for students to be able to afford a
college education without any type of government assistance.
Higher Education and World War II
During World War II, many Texas colleges and universities were involved in training military
personnel (Cardozier). In total, there were ten colleges and universities who provided specialized
officer training during the war. The University of Texas was particularly involved in the Navy
V12 Program. This program was designed to give officer the minimum education required for
more specialized training as officers. Another institution that provided specialized military
training was Texas A&M, in addition, this institution also provided more officers for the armed
forces during the war than both of the military academies combined (Dethloff). All of these
efforts were short lived as may of these programs dismantled after the war was over.
Nonetheless, there is no denying the importance of the Texas higher education institutions during
World War II which ranged anywhere from training to recruiting of military officers.
Current Status
As any other state in the United States, there are several measures and legislatures happening in
many institutions throughout the country. A controversial topic in the current affairs of higher
education is illegal immigration. Currently, there are several measures in several states that

prevent the enrollment of undocumented students in universities throughout the country. In the
State of Texas, House Bill 1403 (HB 1403) enables undocumented students in the state to enroll
in higher education and allows them to receive in-state tuition. However, House Bill 209 (HB
209) which is due to be discussed in the senate sometime this year will reverse the HB 1403 and
prevent undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition. I the state of Georgia, a similar
measure is in place. This bill now only prevents undocumented students from receiving in-state
tuition, but also prevents enrollment in the top five universities in the state, regardless of
academic or economic status. Although this is not a complete set-back for talented students to
achieve their dream of having a college education, it is a bit of a waste since a lot of these
talented students would achieve so much more if they had a chance to attend a to receive an
education at one of these top schools.
From its tumultuous beginning, through it's promising future, the state of Texas has achieved a lot through
its short 175 years since the funding of its first college. While the state goes through many changes in its
policies in higher education, what the future will look like for this states institutions, only time will tell.

References

k/online/articles/kbr17

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_University
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kbm15 Mckenzie
CPA Style - B. E. Masters, "MCKENZIE COLLEGE," Handbook of Texas Online
(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kbm15), accessed June 29, 2015. Uploaded
on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Michael R. Heintze, "BLACK COLLEGES," Handbook of Texas Online
(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/khb01), accessed July 12, 2015. Uploaded
on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
http://www.southwestern.edu/infoservices/documents/ToSurviveAndExcel.pdf
http://www.tamu.edu/about/facts/history.html
https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/annexation/part5/question8.html
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/khp02
http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/3407/matthewsc64304.pdf
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kcp06
https://www.pvamu.edu/discover-pvamu/history-of-prairie-view-am-university/
https://www.utexas.edu/about/history-and-traditions
http://www.twu.edu/administration/brief-history.asp

V. R. Cardozier, "HIGHER EDUCATION," Handbook of Texas Online

(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/khhxr), accessed July 09, 2015. Uploaded
on June 15, 2010. Modified on August 21, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical
Association.
Navy V-12, Volume 12 By Henry C. Herge, Turner Publishing Co

Henry C. Dethloff, "TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY," Handbook of Texas Online

(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kct08), accessed July 09, 2015. Uploaded on June
15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Current