Texas A And M University System

The Texas A&M University System is one of two university systems in the State of Texas. It evolved from both Texas A and M University and Prairie View A&M University, which are the land-grant universities of the state, and a number of state normal schools. The other public university system in Texas is the University of Texas System.

History[edit]

In response to the Morrill Act, Texas A&M University was founded to serve white students in 1876. Texas also established a separate Prairie View A&M University to serve black students, and Prairie View is considered a Historically Black College and University.

Texas also created a number of local normal schools to educate teachers. These normal schools evolved into research universities. In the 1990s, these universities merged into the Texas A&M University System in order to gain access to improved funding.

In 1905, the State Dental College was founded as a privately-operated dental school in Dallas, Texas. In 1918 the school's operations were taken over by Baylor University. The State of Texas took over operations in 1971, creating a non-profit corporation and renaming the school Baylor College of Dentistry. In 1996, the school was added to the Texas A&M System. As of August 1, 2016, the dental school was renamed "Texas A&M College of Dentistry."^[1]

Present scope[edit]

The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with an annual budget of $6.3 billion. The System is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management; and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M System educates more than 151,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through cooperative extension programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in FY 2019 and helped drive the Texas economy.^[2]

Although each campus has its own President and administration, the system is governed by a single Chancellor and Board of Regents.

In an effort to promote racial diversity, Texas adopted a "top 10" rule that guaranteed admission to every student who graduates in the top 10% of his high school class. This rule applies to both the universities in the Texas A&M University System and the University of Texas System. In this way, students who attend predominantly black or Hispanic high schools can attend elite schools regardless of test scores or other criteria that traditionally disfavor those students when competing for admission.

Although the system is no longer officially racially segregated, the historic segregation carries forward to the present. In terms of Fall 2019 enrollment, 43.8% of system students are white and 10.3% are black. However, Prairie View A&M students are 1.6% white and 82.9% black.^[3]

External links[edit]

• Official site

References[edit]

1. ↑ College History. Retrieved on 2020-09-08.
2. ↑ About. Retrieved on 2020-09-07.
3. ↑ Total Texas A&M University System Enrollment. Retrieved on 2020-09-08.