Academic advancement: Texas Tech sees growth in academic majors, colleges over the century
Author’s note: The enrollment rates are taken from the university Institutional Research Fact Book and count students enrolled in a program in each college which means students are counted twice or three times for dual degree programs or are in university studies.
When the first 914 students enrolled at Texas Technological College, the only four schools available through the college were the School of Liberal Arts, School of Household Economics, School of Agriculture and School of Engineering.
Since then, the college has become a university and now boasts 13 colleges and schools and over 300 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.
Here is a brief synopsis of each college.
Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources
One of the first colleges at the university was originally named the School of Agriculture and saw 8,660 undergraduate and 1,245 graduate students enroll in one of its over 30 degree programs.
In 2022, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported the college was gifted the largest philanthropic gift in the university's history - $44 million. The gift was given by Gordan W. Davis and, his wife, Joyce Davis. It was an investment in the university, specifically in the college’s pursuit of academic excellence.
In honor of the donation, the college was named the Gordon W. Davis College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources.
The college is currently led by Dean Clint Krehbiel, associate dean for Research and Graduate Programs, Christy Bratcher, interim associate dean for Academic and Student Programs, Robert Cox, and seven department chairs.
Huckabee College of Architecture
Once a program in the School of Engineering at the start of the university, the College of Architecture officially became a department in 1932 and became an independent college in 1986, according to the college’s website.
The college saw an enrollment of 2,643 undergraduates and 314 graduates in its six degree programs.
As the end of the first century of the university’s history came to a close, Chris Huckabee, former Texas Tech University System Regent, donated an undisclosed amount to the university and the college in honor of his father, Tommie J. Huckabee.
In honor of the donation, the college was named the Huckabee College of Architecture, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s archive.
The college is led by Dean Urs Peter Flueckiger, associate dean for Research & Innovation, Hazem Raised-Ali, associate dean for Academics, Kuhn Park, associate dean for External Affairs, Darrick Wade, and five directors.
College of Arts & Sciences
Originally named the School of Liberal Arts, the college welcomed 474 students of the 914 in 1925, according to the Southwest Collection Archive.
Now the college has an enrollment rate of 74,149 undergraduate students and 3,906 graduate students in its program in the fall of 2022.
Being the largest college within the university, the college features 15 departments and over 100 degrees for undergraduates and graduates.
The college is led by Dean Tosha Dupras, associate dean for Research, Nural Akchurin, associate dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs, Randy McBee, associate dean for Student Affairs, Jorge Iber, associate dean for Recruitment and Retention Management, Stefanie Borst, associated dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Amelia Talley and 16 department chairs.
Rawls College of Business Administration
Starting out as the Department of Business Education in 1926, the department became the College of Business Administration in 1947, according to the college’s website.
16,585 undergraduates and 2,753 graduates enrolled in one of the college’s over 20 degree programs in the fall of 2022.
In 2000, Jerry S. Rawls donated $25 million to the university and college, according to the college’s website.
The university named the college the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration in honor of the donation.
The college is led by Dean Margaret William, associate dean for Graduate Programs & Research, Mayukh Dass, associate dean for Academic Affairs and Undergraduate programs, Dennis Arnett, and six area coordinators.
College of Education
Founded in 1967, the college has led the university in grant funding to help train future educators, according to the TTU Museum.
Within the college is the Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research was established in 2005 with its building opening in 2013.
In the fall of 2022, the college saw enrollment numbers of 3,360 undergraduates and 2,783 graduate students.
The college is led by Dean Jesse Perez-Mendez, interim associate dean for Research and Faculty/Staff Development, Douglas Hamman, associate dean for Student and Academic Affairs, Bret Hendricks, and four department chairs.
Whitacre College of Engineering
One of the four founding schools, the School of Engineering saw an enrollment rate of 313 students; now, the college saw an enrollment of 13,425 undergraduate and 4,108 graduate students in the fall of 2022.
The college has undergone several name changes throughout its time, according to the college’s website, with the latest being in 2008 when it went from the College of Engineering to the Edward E. Whiticare Jr. College of Engineering.
When first founded, the focus of the college was on textile engineering but it now features seven departments and 33 degrees.
The college is led by Interim Dean Stephen Bayne, Senior Associate Dean Nurcan Bac, Executive Associate Dean George Spoth, interim associate dean for Undergraduate Studies, Stephen Ekwaro-Osire, associate dean for Research and Graduate Programs, Rajesh Khare, Assistant Dean Zaida Garcia, assistant dean of Strategic Initiatives, Ranadip Pal, and seven department chairs.
Honors College
The Honors College was established in 1988. According to the college’s website, its purpose is to enrich the college experience of those admitted students.
The college saw an enrollment of 948 undergraduate students and two graduate students in the fall of 2022. The college also houses features a degree program that is both a bachelor’s of arts and science in honor sciences & humanities.
The college is led by Dean Jill Hernandez and Assistant Dean Chad Cain.
College of Human Sciences
Another of the four founding colleges, the School of Home Economics transformed into the College of Human Sciences in 1993.
In the fall of 2022, the school saw an enrollment rate of 10,621 undergraduate and 4,108 graduate students. The school also features the School of Financial Planning.
The college is still housed in its original building which has been added to over the course of the century. When it was first built, the school also built the Home Management House in 1928, which is now named the Human Sciences Cottage and is used for research on child development.
The college is led by Dean Timm Dodd, associated dean for Academics and Faculty, Dorothy Durband, assistant dean for Undergraduate Student Services, Ashlee Brown, associate dean for Research, Malinda Colwell, and seven department chairs.
College of Media & Communication
Media and Communications may be the newest college on campus, but it has had a long history at the university. According to the college’s website, the college's roots began with journalism classes in the English department in 1926, which evolved into the Department of Mass Communication in 1970.
In 1988, the department became a school within the College of Art & Sciences and became an independent college in 2004 with its name being changed in 2012 to the College of Media & Communication from the College of Mass Communications.
The college saw 12,556 undergraduates and 804 graduates in its 11 degree programs in the fall of 2022. The college also houses the only student-led publication at the university, The Daily Toreador and La Ventana, which both started in 1925.
The college is led by Dean David Perlmutter, associate dean for Administration & Finance, Amy Koerber, associate dean for Graduate Affairs, Coy Callison, interim dean for undergraduate Affairs, Debbie Davis, associate dean for international affairs, Narissra Carter, and five department chairs.
College of Visual & Performing Arts
Being the second newest college on campus, the College of Visual & Performing Arts became an independent college in 2002, according to Texas Tech.
In 2016, the school was named in honor of J.T. and Margaret Talkington after a $10 million donation to help renovate the Madgen Theatre and the couples’ lifetime of philanthropic donations to the university that had a $100 million impact on the Texas Tech University System.
The J.T. & Margret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts saw an enrollment of 8,067 undergraduate and 836 graduate students in the fall of 2022.
The college also houses the Goin’ Band from Raiderland.
The college is led by Dean Martin Camacho, associate dean for Students and Curricula, Andrea Bilkey, associate dean for Faculty, Research and Creative Activity, Peter Martens, and three department directors.
Graduate School
Graduate instruction started at Texas Tech long before the establishment of the Graduate School. As a part of the School of Liberal Arts, graduate courses started in 1927, two years after the opening of the college, according to Texas Tech.
Later the Division of Graduate Studies at Texas Technological College was formed in 1935 and would go on to be the Graduate School in 1954.
Offering over 160 graduate and post-graduate programs, the school saw an enrollment of 464 students in the fall of 2022.
The school is led by Dean Mark Sheridan and associate deans, Heather Greenhalgh-Spencer, Kristi Gaines and Louisa Hope-Weeks.
School of Law
Founded in 1967, Texas Tech University established the School of Law, which has since grown in accolades.
According to the college’s website, the college was ranked 12th in the nation by Reuters in 2021 for graduate employment and has a two-year bar pass rate of 96.61%.
Starting with 72 students, the school saw an enrollment number of 2,228 law students in the fall of 2022. The school also features several dual degree programs in business, science, engineering, sports management, and public administration.
The school is led by Dean Jack Nowlin, seven associate deans and five assistant deans.
School of Veterinary Medicine
Being the newest academic venture of Texas Tech, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board established at a veterinary school could be established under Tech in 2018. Three years later, the school opened its door to students in the Texas Panhandle.
Located in Amarillo, the School of Veterinary Medicine is the only major academic component that is not located on the Texas Tech main campus.
In the fall of 2022, 1,447 were enrolled in the school’s courses.
The school is led by Dean Guy Loneragan, associate dean for Academic & Student Affairs, John Dascanio, associate dean for Clinical Programs, Britt Conklin, and associate dean for Research, Annelise Nguyen.
Satellite campuses
Texas Tech has the main campus in Lubbock and the vet school in Amarillo, but its reach extends far beyond the South Plains and Panhandle.
According to the Texas Tech System’s website, Texas Tech has the following satellite campuses and academic sites:
Cleburne - Hill College
El Paso
Fredricksburg
Junction
Marble Falls- Highland lakes
McKinney - Collin College
Rockwall-
Sherman - Austin College
Waco
San Jose, Costa Rica
Seville, Spain
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech growth of academic majors, college over the century
