Sam Houston State University (SHSU)

Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi f the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and the first in Texas. The school is named for Sam Houston, who made his home in the city and is buried there. SHSU is a member of the Texas State University System and has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students across over 80 undergraduate, 59 master's, and 10 doctoral degree programs. It also offers more than 20 online bachelor's and graduate degrees. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity." History 19th and 20th centuries The Sam Houston State University campus was originally home to Austin College, the Presbyterian institution that relocated to Sherman, Texas, in 1876. Austin Hall was constructed in 1851 and is the oldest university building west of the Mississippi still in operation. It was renovated in 2012 and is used today for special meetings and events. Notably, Sam Houston himself attended and participated in the original dedication of the building. Created by legislation signed by Governor Oran M. Roberts on San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1879, Sam Houston Normal Institute's dedicated goal was to train teachers for the public schools of Texas. It was the first teacher-training school in the southwestern United States. On October 10 of the same year, the first class of 110 students and four faculty commenced instruction. The first president of the school, Bernard Mallon, died eleven days after the institute opened. The one-room Peabody Memorial Library was the first free-standing campus library in Texas; it was constructed in 1901 with funds provided by the George Peabody Foundation. According to the Normal Institute's catalog, the library was "a very handsome structure, and specially designed for the purpose for which it is to be used. It is said that no school of this kind in the South has a Building equal to it." Fully restored, it is now used as a venue for special university events. When the university first opened, students received a certification to teach in the state's elementary and secondary schools. After 1919, the university began to award bachelor's degrees. In 1936, the school awarded its first postbaccalaureate degree. 21st century On May 30, 2012, SHSU-The Woodlands Center opened on the Lone Star College-Montgomery campus. The facility includes 144,164 square feet (13,393.3 m²) and has a five-story parking garage. The university also operates SHSU-University Park on the property of Lone Star College-University Park in unincorporated Harris County near Tomball. Name changes Throughout its history, Sam has undergone several name changes: 1879 (April 21): founded as Sam Houston Normal Institute 1923: Sam Houston State Teachers College 1965: Sam Houston State College 1969: Sam Houston State University In April 2007, Texas House Bill 1418 passed without objection in the Texas Legislature, preventing The Texas State University System's Board of Regents from changing the university's name to Texas State – Huntsville. Contrary to a popular joke—repeated by alumnus Dan Rather in his 1978 autobiography, The Camera Never Blinks—the school was never known as "Sam Houston Institute of Teaching" or "Sam Houston Institute of Technology." This joke was expanded in 2006 into an entire feature film, Accepted, which takes place on the campus of the fictional South Harmon Institute of Technology. ...view more