Austin College

Austin College

Austin College's New Modern Logo
Motto	Nil nisi per aspera
Type	Private liberal arts college
Established	1849
Affiliation	Presbyterian
Endowment	$133 million
President	Marjorie Hass
Undergraduates	1,208
Postgraduates	16
Location	Sherman , Texas , U.S.
Campus	Suburban, 70 acres (28 ha)
Colors	Crimson, Gold & Black
Nickname	Kangaroos
Affiliations	Oberlin Group Annapolis Group CIC APCU
Mascot	Kangaroo
Website	www.austincollege.edu

Administrative building.

Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, in the U.S. state of Texas, about 60 miles (about 100 km) north of Dallas.

The undergraduate student body of Austin College is about 1,300. Most students are required to live on campus for the first three years in an attempt to create a close-knit community. Austin College actively promotes study abroad programs; 70% of graduates have at least one international study experience during college. The college states that it attempts to foster close interaction between students and professors via a 12:1 student to faculty ratio and an average class size of fewer than 25 students. The college has no teaching assistants, so regular faculty teach all levels of coursework.

Chartered in November 1849 under original charter and name as recognized by the State Historical Survey Committee.

History

The college was founded on October 13, 1849, in Huntsville, Texas, by the Hampden-Sydney and Princeton-educated missionary Dr. Daniel Baker.

The college moved to Sherman in 1876 and became co-educational in 1918, merging in 1929 with the all-female Texas Presbyterian College.

Baker named the school after the Texas historical figure Stephen F. Austin. Another important figure in Texas history, Sam Houston, served on the original board of trustees for the college, and the former site in Huntsville later became today's Sam Houston State University.

On September 20, 1973, the musician Jim Croce died in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, on his way to perform the next night at Austin College. Six people died in the crash.

Administration

In 2009, Austin College welcomed its first female president, 15th in the history of the College, Dr. Marjorie Hass. She was previously provost of Muhlenberg College. Hass succeeded Dr. Oscar Page.

Rankings

Academic rankings
Liberal arts
U.S. News & World Report	89
Washington Monthly	116
National
Forbes	271

Listed in the U.S. News & World Report "Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges", Austin College is also ninth on the U.S. News 2006 list of "most students studying abroad" and #82 on the 2013 list of National Liberal Arts Colleges. It is a member of the International 50, a group of the top colleges in the USA for international focus. The school is named a Best Western College by The Princeton Review and is also included in The Princeton Review's Best 377 Colleges. Austin College is a member of the non-profit organization Colleges That Change Lives and one of the original 40 private colleges in the book, Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Feel About Colleges by Loren Pope.

Campus

Demographics

• Every student has a faculty mentor for their four years at Austin College.
• Student to faculty ratio is 12:1.
• 98 percent of faculty members hold a Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree.
• Austin College graduates experience an 80 percent acceptance rate into medical schools and other health science programs (two-year average).
• 70 percent of graduates have at least one international study experience during college.
• 80 percent of students complete an internship during their college experience.
• Intercollegiate athletics programs involve 20 percent of the student body.
• Each year, students contribute more than 16,000 community service hours locally and internationally.
• More than 80 percent of students live on campus.
• The Austin College community has approximately 42 percent of students who represent ethnic and racial minorities.
• 63 percent of graduates enter graduate or professional school immediately or within five years of graduation.
• 94 percent of faculty members recently have published or presented scholarly research.

Housing

There are five residence halls on the Austin College campus. Baker Hall houses only males, Caruth Hall houses only females, and Dean and Clyce Hall are co-ed. Freshmen are required to live in one of the residence halls if living on campus for their first year. All dorms have community bathrooms, laundry facilities, a computer lab, and community kitchen. The dorms also offer a limited number of single rooms. A meal plan is required for students living in the residence halls.

Bryan Apartments are College-owned apartments on campus. The 16 two-bedroom apartments are occupied by 3-4 people each. All apartments are furnished with two movable beds, dressers, desks and chairs per bedroom, movable sofa and a chair in the living room, and a movable dining room table with four chairs. All apartments contain a kitchen equipped with a full size refrigerator, garbage disposal, microwave and electric stove.

Johnson ‘Roo Suites are College-owned apartments, completed in the fall of 2003. Adjacent to Bryan Apartments, the suites house 152 students in four separate structures. The residence is available to juniors and seniors, with priority to juniors. Four students, each with a separate bedroom, live in a 1,200-square-foot suite that includes two bathrooms, a common living area, and a kitchenette. Each resident receives a key to the main door and one for their individual bedroom.

The Jordan Family Language House takes language learning to a whole new level for 48 men and women students of German, Spanish, French, and Japanese. Divided into four pods, one for each language, the House is staffed by four native speaking language residents. Each pod features bedrooms, a kitchen, and a common living area. Residents are automatically enrolled in a quarter-credit language course each semester and must meet the requirements of the course to receive credit.

The Flats at Brockett Court provide 26 suite-style residences for juniors, extending living options beyond the traditional residence halls. Each includes four bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a living area. A few of the units are two bedroom, one bath. All are fully furnished. A community room offers a social space for residents.

The Village on Grand provides neighborhood-style housing on Grand Avenue for seniors and some juniors. The Village includes 24 cottages—some single, some duplex, and three triplex “mansions,”—each housing four individuals. Each fully furnished cottage has a full-size kitchen, washer and dryer, four bedrooms with full-size beds, four bathrooms, and a living area. Each unit has front and rear covered porches and spacious backyards. Reserved parking is available for each resident.

Academics

Austin College offers about 35 majors and pre-professional programs for study, and students can also create a specialized major to match their academic interests. The college is known for its nationally recognized five-year Master of Arts in Teaching program, its pre-medical, international studies, and pre-law programs, which draw many students to the campus. The college has a music program, and supports the Austin College A Cappella Choir and the Sherman Symphony Orchestra made up of students and local musicians, and assorted smaller musical ensembles. It sponsors the Posey Center of Excellence in Leadership, the Center for Environmental Studies, and the Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies, three specialized programs that give students numerous research and internship opportunities. The school also has active programs in over 40 academic disciplines. The school's student newspaper, the Austin College Observer, is a bi-weekly publication.

Majors and Minors

There are multiple options made available to students at Austin College when deciding on a major and minor. Students are permitted to create a specialized major to match their academic interests. Austin College also offers pre-professional programs for law, medicine, dentistry, ministry, and engineering.

Communication/Inquiry

Communication/Inquiry (C/I) is a seminar course taken by freshmen during the fall of their entry year. The professor becomes a mentor for the students in the class over the next four years. C/I serves as the initial course in the undergraduate core curriculum, meant to emphasize the enhancement of core academic skills. Course topics are generally aligned with specialty of the instructors. C/I professors and topics rotate every year.

January Term

January Term is a three-week course taught every January. Students are required to take three Jan-terms during their time at Austin, and many use the semester to either take a class in an area different to their regular studies, intensify their study in their designated field, or travel abroad on one of the many travel Jan-terms. Off-campus Jan-terms are an opportunity for those who cannot study abroad during the normal school year to do so. International destinations rotate from year to year. There are also a number of domestic travel locations, such as Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, Washington D.C., Las Vegas and New York City. Courses are taught on-campus as well. A longstanding policy requires freshmen to spend their first Jan-term on-campus, although some instructors allow exceptions.

Study abroad

Austin College has a strong emphasis on international learning opportunity. A 2009 report by Open Doors Online showed that Austin College sent more than 80% of their students abroad at some point during their undergraduate education.

Jordan Family Language House

Completed in 1998, the Jordan Family Language House is both a residence hall and a place of study for German, Spanish, French, Chinese and Japanese language and culture. The hall is divided into four sections, one for each language. Each section functions independently, with the number of students varying from Spanish (the largest) to Japanese (the smallest, with a capacity for eight). Students are encouraged to speak in their language of study when in the house.

A native speaker, always coming from abroad, resides in each section to assist students in their study of the language. The native speaker also holds intermediate and advanced conversation classes for the students. The Jordan House contains a multimedia language laboratory.

Students who live in the house are enrolled in a half-credit course, in addition to another course in the language or literature. Course requirements include meeting several times a week for language table, weekly house meetings with skits, games, and other presentations in the target language, and a variety of other culturally appropriate activities.

Model United Nations

Austin College has participated in Model United Nations around the USA since 1983. Model UN conferences simulate the workings of the United Nations, with delegates assuming the current positions of the countries they represent.

The purpose of the program is to gain skills in leadership, verbal and written communication, teamwork, decision-making and research. At the National Model U.N. Conference in New York City, the Austin College program has earned more than 20 top rankings for Outstanding Delegation. Austin College has also attended conferences in Chicago, Washington, DC, Hawaii, Russia and China.

Graduate Outcomes

Out of the Austin College first-year graduates, 40% have full-time employment, 38% attend graduate and professional schools, 12% are having post-graduate experiences, 5% are in prestigious fellowships and service, and 5% are seeking full-time employment.

Athletics

File:AustinCollege-kangaroo-logo.png

Athletics logo

Austin College participates in NCAA Division III athletics. Previously, Austin College competed in NAIA Division II athletics. Austin College athletes do not receive athletic scholarships. The football team became known as the "Kangaroos" sometime during the 1914 to 1915 seasons. According to campus legend, the mascot name was derived from a kangaroo court of organized students that would paddle violators of college rules. Currently students refer to their sports teams as the 'fighting roos.'

Kangaroo varsity teams include American football, men and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, volleyball, men and women's basketball, swimming and diving, tennis, baseball and softball, which was added for the 2006-2007 season. More than 225 student athletics participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics each year. In 2004-2005, 28 students were recognized with all-conference athletic honors and 61 students received all-conference academic honors. Austin College also has a lacrosse team, which is run as a club sport.

Austin College joined the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference on July 1, 2006, replacing Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Austin College was previously a member of the American Southwest Conference, Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and Texas Conference.

Notable alumni

• Marshall Applewhite, leader of the Heaven's Gate religious cult.
• Gene Babb, President, National Football Scouting Inc.; former player for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Oilers and San Francisco 49ers
• Byron Boston, a football official in the National Football League
• George C. Butte, American jurist and Texas politician
• Deborah Crombie, New York Times bestselling author.
• Larry Fedora, head football coach at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• David Lee "Tex" Hill, World War II triple ace, member of the Flying Tigers. John Wayne based his character on Hill in the movie Flying Tigers.
• Ron Kirk, former Mayor of Dallas and former United States Trade Representative
• Candace Kita, actress
• Ray Morehart, baseball player, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, played with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
• David Peeples, Texas state court judge since 1981, based in San Antonio
• Carroll Pickett, Presbyterian minister, author and advocate for abolishing the death penalty
• Larry Tidwell, head women's basketball coach at NCAA Division I programs Lamar University and University of Texas–Pan American.

Notable faculty

• Light Townsend Cummins, (State Historian of Texas, Texas history author)
• George Diggs, (biologist, Texas flora)
• Jerry B. Lincecum, (English, Texas folklore author)
• Shelton Williams, (political science/international studies, government consultant)
• Joseph Havel, (Artist, Current Director, Glassell School of Art)

External links

• Official website
• Austin College Athletics website