1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
3.
Oklahoma
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Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central United States. Oklahoma is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States, the states name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning red people. The name was settled upon statehood, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged, on November 16,1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, or informally Okies, and its capital, a major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. In 2007, it had one of the economies in the United States, ranking among the top states in per capita income growth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahomas primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas. With small mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers, interior Highlands—a region especially prone to severe weather. The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw phrase okla humma, literally meaning red people, equivalent to the English word Indian, okla humma was a phrase in the Choctaw language used to describe Native American people as a whole. Oklahoma later became the de facto name for Oklahoma Territory, and it was approved in 1890. Oklahoma is the 20th-largest state in the United States, covering an area of 69,898 square miles and it is one of six states on the Frontier Strip and lies partly in the Great Plains near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states. It is bounded on the east by Arkansas and Missouri, on the north by Kansas, on the northwest by Colorado, on the far west by New Mexico, much of its border with Texas lies along the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, a failed continental rift. The geologic figure defines the placement of the Red River, the Oklahoma panhandles Western edge is out of alignment with its Texas border. The Oklahoma/New Mexico border is actually 2.1 to 2.2 miles east of the Texas line, the border between Texas and New Mexico was set first as a result of a survey by Spain in 1819. It was then set along the 103rd Meridian, in the 1890s, when Oklahoma was formally surveyed using more accurate surveying equipment and techniques, it was discovered the Texas line was not set along the 103rd Meridian. Surveying techniques were not as accurate in 1819, and the actual 103rd Meridian was approximately 2.2 miles to the east and it was much easier to leave the mistake than for Texas to cede land to New Mexico to correct the surveying error. The placement of the Oklahoma/New Mexico border represents the true 103rd Meridian, cimarron County in Oklahomas panhandle is the only county in the United States that touches four other states, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and Kansas. Its highest and lowest points follow this trend, with its highest peak, Black Mesa, at 4,973 feet above sea level, situated near its far northwest corner in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The states lowest point is on the Little River near its far southeastern boundary near the town of Idabel, Oklahoma, which dips to 289 feet above sea level
4.
Arkansas
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Arkansas is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the states diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U. S. Interior Highlands, to the forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States, the capital and most populous city is Little Rock, located in the central portion of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of the state, such as the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area, is a population, education, the largest city in the eastern part of the state is Jonesboro. The largest city in the part of the state is Pine Bluff. The Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15,1836, in 1861 Arkansas withdrew from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Upon returning to the Union in 1868, the state would continue to suffer due to its reliance on slavery. White rural interests continued to dominate the politics until the Civil Rights Movement. Arkansas began to diversify its economy following World War II and relies on its service industry, aircraft, poultry, steel, tourism, cotton, and rice. The culture of Arkansas is observable in museums, theaters, novels, television shows, restaurants, wright, and physicist William L. McMillan, who was a pioneer in superconductor research, have all lived in Arkansas. The name Arkansas derives from the root as the name for the state of Kansas. The Kansa tribe of Native Americans are closely associated with the Sioux tribes of the Great Plains, the word Arkansas itself is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw word, akakaze, meaning land of downriver people or the Sioux word akakaze meaning people of the south wind. In 2007, the legislature passed a non-binding resolution declaring the possessive form of the states name to be Arkansass which has been followed increasingly by the state government. Arkansas borders Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, Oklahoma to the west, Missouri to the north, as well as Tennessee, the United States Census Bureau classifies Arkansas as a southern state, sub-categorized among the West South Central States. The state line along the Mississippi River is indeterminate along much of the border with Mississippi due to these changes. Arkansas can generally be split into two halves, the highlands in the northwest half and the lowlands of the southeastern half, the highlands are part of the Southern Interior Highlands, including The Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains. The southern lowlands include the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Arkansas Delta and this dual split can yield to general regions named northwest, southwest, northeast, southeast, or central Arkansas
5.
Rice University
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William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a 295-acre campus in Houston, Texas, United States. The university is situated near the Houston Museum District and is adjacent to the Texas Medical Center, Rice is generally considered the top university and the most selective institute of higher education in the state of Texas. Opened in 1912 after the murder of its namesake William Marsh Rice, Rice is now a university with an undergraduate focus. Its emphasis on education is demonstrated by a student body and 6,1 student-faculty ratio. The university has a high level of research activity for its size. Rice is noted for its science programs in the fields of artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, signal processing, space science. It was ranked first in the world in materials science research by the Times Higher Education in 2010, Rice is a member of the Association of American Universities. Graduate programs are offered through the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, School of Architecture, Shepherd School of Music, Rice students are bound by the strict Honor Code, which is enforced by a student-run Honor Council. Rice competes in 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a part of Conference USA, intramural and club sports are offered in a wide variety of activities such as jiu jitsu, water polo, and crew. In 1891, Rice decided to charter a free-tuition educational institute in Houston, bearing his name, to be created upon his death, Rices will specified the institution was to be a competitive institution of the highest grade and that only white students would be permitted to attend. On the morning of September 23,1900, Rice, age 84, was dead by his valet. Shortly thereafter, a large check made out to Rices New York City lawyer. The lawyer, Albert T. Patrick, then announced that Rice had changed his will to leave the bulk of his fortune to Patrick, rather than to the creation of Rices educational institute. Rices friend and personal lawyer in Houston, James A. Baker, Jones was not prosecuted since he cooperated with the district attorney, and testified against Patrick. Patrick was found guilty of conspiring to steal Rices fortune and convicted of murder in 1901, Baker helped Rices estate direct the fortune, worth $4.6 million in 1904, towards the founding of what was to be called the Rice Institute. The board took control of the assets on April 29 of that year and he came recommended by Princetons president, Woodrow Wilson. In 1908, Lovett accepted the challenge, and was inaugurated as the Institutes first president on October 12,1912. Lovett undertook extensive research before formalizing plans for the new Institute, Lovett called for the establishment of a university of the highest grade, an institution of liberal and technical learning devoted quite as much to investigation as to instruction
6.
Southern Methodist University
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Southern Methodist University is a private research university in Dallas, University Park, and Highland Park, Texas. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates satellite campuses in Plano, Texas, SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church. Of the universitys 11,643 students,6,411 are undergraduates, the main campus of the university is divided into seven schools, including the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, the Bobby B. The university was chartered on April 17,1911, by the five Annual Conferences in Texas of the Methodist Episcopal Church, classes were originally planned to start in 1913 but were postponed until 1915. SMU was established after the attempt to relocate Southwestern University from Georgetown, Texas, the first relocation effort by Polytechnic College president Hiram A. Boaz and spearheaded by Southwestern president Robert Stewart Hyer involved merging Southwestern with Polytechnic College. The post-merger university would retain the Southwestern name while occupying Polytechnics campus in Fort Worth, the merger never came to fruition, primarily because the Dallas Chamber of Commerce set up a committee to raise funds and entice Southwestern to relocate to Dallas. This proposal gained traction since Southwestern was operating a medical school in Dallas. Plans were drawn for the campuss first building, Memorial Hall, Southwesterns trustees rejected the relocation plan, prompting Hyers resignation and move to Dallas to establish Southern Methodist University. SMU retained close connections to Southwestern and Polytechnic, Southwestern president Hyer became SMUs first president and Hiram A. Boaz, a Southwestern graduate, resigned as president of Polytechnic to become SMUs second president. Polytechnic attempted to become a school of SMU before becoming a womens college. SMU acquired Southwesterns medical school in Dallas and operated it until 1915, Southwestern and SMU were athletic rivals until Southwestern became a small liberal arts college. The church decided to support the establishment of SMU and dramatically increase the size of Emory University at a new location in DeKalb County, at the 1914 meeting of the General Conference, SMU was designated the connectional institution for all Conferences west of the Mississippi River. Classes were planned to begin in 1913, but construction delays on the universitys first building prevented classes from starting until 1915. In the interim, the only functioning academic department at SMU was the college it had acquired from Southwestern University. SMU named its first building Dallas Hall in gratitude for the support of Dallas leaders and local citizens and it remains the universitys symbol and centerpiece. Designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge after the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, Dallas Hall opened its doors in 1915 and housed the university as well as a bank. It is registered in the National Register of Historic Places, SMUs nickname The Hilltop was inspired by Dallas Hall, which was built on a hill. The universitys first president, Robert Stewart Hyer, selected Harvard crimson, in 1927, Highland Park United Methodist Church, designed by architects Mark Lemmon and Roscoe DeWitt, was erected on campus
7.
Texas A&M University
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Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It is a university and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. The systems endowment ranks in the top 10 in the nation, Texas A&Ms student body is the largest in Texas and one of the largest in the United States. In 2001, Texas A&M was inducted as a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, the schools students, alumni–over 450,000 strong–and sports teams are known as Aggies. The Texas A&M Aggies athletes currently compete in 18 varsity sports as a member of the Southeastern Conference, originally, the college taught no classes in agriculture, instead concentrating on classical studies, languages, literature, and applied mathematics. After four years, students could attain degrees in agriculture, civil and mechanical engineering. Under the leadership of President James Earl Rudder in the 1960s, A&M desegregated, became coeducational, to reflect the institutions expanded roles and academic offerings, the Texas Legislature renamed the school to Texas A&M University in 1963. The letters A&M, originally short for Agricultural and Mechanical, are retained only as a link to the universitys past, the main campus is one of the largest in the United States, spanning 5,200 acres, and is home to the George Bush Presidential Library. About one-fifth of the student body lives on campus, Texas A&M has over 1,000 officially recognized student organizations. Many students also observe the traditions, which daily life, as well as special occasions. Working with agencies such as the Texas AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service, the university offers degrees in over 150 courses of study through ten colleges and houses 18 research institutes. As a Senior Military College, Texas A&M is one of six American public universities with a full-time, the U. S. Congress laid the groundwork for the establishment of Texas A&M in 1862 with the adoption of the Morrill Act. To promote the liberal and practical education of the classes in the several pursuits. In 1871, the Texas Legislature used these funds to establish the states first public institution of higher education, Brazos County donated 2,416 acres near Bryan, Texas, for the schools campus. Enrollment began on October 2,1876, six students enrolled on the first day, and classes officially began on October 4,1876, with six faculty members. During the first semester, enrollment increased to 48 students, admission was limited to white males, and all students were required to participate in the Corps of Cadets and receive military training. Although traditional Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets campusologies indicate 40 students began classes on October 4,1876, enrollment climbed to 258 students before declining to 108 students in 1883, the year the University of Texas opened in Austin, Texas. In the late 1880s, many Texas residents saw no need for two colleges in Texas and clamored for an end of Texas A. M. C
8.
Texas Christian University
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Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university in Fort Worth, Texas established in 1873 by Addison & Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. The campus is located on 272 acres about three miles from downtown Fort Worth, TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ. The university consists of 8 constituent colleges and schools and has a liberal arts curriculum. Its mascot is the frog, the state reptile of Texas. For most varsity sports TCU competes in the Big 12 conference of the NCAAs Division I, the university enrolls around 10,394, with 8,892 being undergraduates. As of February 2016, TCUs total endowment was $1.514 billion, Texas Christian University was founded by East Texas brothers Addison & Randolph Clark, together with the support of their father Joseph A. Clark. The Clarks were scholar-preacher/teachers associated with the Restoration Movement and these early leaders of the Restoration Movement were the spiritual ancestors of the modern Disciples of Christ, as well as major proponents of education. Following their return from service in the Civil War, brothers Addison and this school, known as the Male & Female Seminary of Fort Worth, operated from 1869 to 1874. Both Clarks nourished a vision for an institution of education that would be Christian in character. They purchased five blocks of land in downtown Fort Worth in 1869 for that purpose, but from 1867–1872, the character of Fort Worth changed substantially due to the commercial influence of the Chisholm Trail, the principal route for moving Texas cattle to the Kansas rail heads. A huge influx of cattle, men, and money transformed the frontier village into a booming, brawling cowtown. Its rough and rowdy reputation had, by 1872, acquired it the nickname of Hells Half Acre, the Clarks feared that this negative environment undermined the fledgling universitys mission. In 1873 the Clark brothers moved South and founded AddRan Male & Female College, TCU recognizes 1873 as its founding year, as it continues to preserve the original college through the AddRan College of Liberal Arts. AddRan College was one of the first coeducational institutions of higher education west of the Mississippi River, and this was a progressive step at a time when only 15% of the national college enrollment was female and almost all were enrolled at womens colleges. At Thorp Spring the fledgling university expanded quickly, the inaugural enrollment in Fall 1873 was 13 students, though this number rose to 123 by the end of the first term. Shortly thereafter, annual enrollment ranged from 200 to 400, at one time more than 100 counties of Texas were represented in the student body. The Clark brothers also recruited prestigious professors from all over the South to join them at Thorp Spring, the standards of the school and the efficiency of its work came to be recognized throughout the United States, and many graduates were welcomed at universities throughout the country. In 1889 AddRan College formed a partnership with what would become the Christian Church
9.
Baylor University
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Baylor University is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas. It is the largest Baptist university in the world, the universitys 1, 000-acre campus is located on the banks of the Brazos River next to I-35, between the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin. Baylor Universitys athletic teams, known as the Bears, participate in 19 intercollegiate sports, the university is a member of the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA Division I. In 1841,35 delegates to the Union Baptist Association meeting voted to adopt the suggestion of Rev. William Milton Tryon, Baylor to establish a Baptist university in Texas, then an independent republic. Baylor, a Texas district judge and onetime U. S, congressman and soldier from Alabama, became the schools namesake. In the fall of 1844, the Texas Baptist Education Society petitioned the Congress of the Republic of Texas to charter a Baptist university, Republic President Anson Jones signed the Act of Congress on February 1,1845, officially establishing Baylor University. The founders built the university campus in Independence, Texas. Rev. James Huckins, the first Southern Baptist missionary to Texas, was Baylors first full-time fundraiser and he is considered the third founding father of the university. Although these three men are credited as being the founders of the university, many others worked to see the first university established in Texas, the noted Texas revolutionary war leader and hero Sam Houston gave the first $5,000 donation to start the university. In 1854, Houston was also baptized by the Rev. Rufus Columbus Burleson, future Baylor President, during the 1846 school year Baylor leaders would begin including chapel as part of the Baylor educational experience. The tradition continues today and has been a part of the life of students for over 160 years. Baylor and Abner S. Lipscomb of the Texas Supreme Court began teaching classes in the science of law, making Baylor the first in Texas, during this time Stephen Decatur Rowe would earn the first degree awarded by Baylor. He would be followed by the first female graduate, Mary Kavanaugh Gentry, in 1851, Baylors second president Rufus Columbus Burleson decided to separate the students by sex, making the Baylor Female College an independent and separate institution. Baylor University became an all-male institution, during this time, Baylor thrived as the only university west of the Mississippi offering instruction in law, mathematics, and medicine. At the time a Baylor education cost around $8–$15 per term for tuition, and many of the early leaders of the Republic of Texas, such as Sam Houston, would later send their children to Baylor to be educated. For the first half of the American Civil War, the Baylor president was George Washington Baines, maternal great-grandfather of the future U. S. President, Lyndon Baines Johnson. He worked vigorously to sustain the university during the Civil War, following the war, the city of Independence slowly declined, primarily caused by the rise of neighboring cities being serviced by the Santa Fe Railroad. Because Independence lacked a railroad line, university fathers began searching for a location to build a new campus, beginning in 1885, Baylor University moved to Waco, Texas, a growing town on the railroad line
10.
University of Arkansas
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The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university in Fayetteville, in the U. S. state of Arkansas. More than 26,000 students are enrolled in over 188 undergraduate, graduate and it is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with highest research activity. Founded as Arkansas Industrial University in 1871, its present name was adopted in 1899 and it is noted for its strong architecture, agriculture, business, communication disorders, creative writing, history, law, and Middle Eastern studies programs. Enrollment for the semester of 2014 was 26,237. Academic programs are in excess of 200, the ratio of students to faculty is approximately 19,1. The University of Arkansas was founded in 1871 on the site of a farm that overlooked the Ozark Mountains. The university was established under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862, the universitys founding also satisfied the provision in the Arkansas Constitution of 1868 that the General Assembly was to establish and maintain a State University. Bids from state towns and counties determined the universitys location, the citizens of Fayetteville and Washington County. Pledged $130,000 toward securing the university, a sum that proved to be more than other offers, classes started on January 22,1872. Completed in 1875, Old Main, a brick building designed in the Second Empire style, was the primary instructional. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and its design was based on the plans for the main academic building at the University of Illinois, which has since been demolished. However, the clock and bell towers were switched at Arkansas, the northern taller tower is the bell tower, and the southern shorter tower is the clock tower. One legend for the switch is that the taller tower was put to the north as a reminder of the Union victory during the Civil War. A second legend is that the contractor accidentally swapped the tower drawings after having had too much to drink, although the southern tower was designed with clock faces, it never held a working clock until October 2005. The bell tower has always had some type of chime, initially a bell that was rung on the hour by student volunteers, electronic chimes were installed in 1959. In addition to the chimes of the clock, the universitys Alma Mater plays at 5 pm every day. Old Main housed many of the earliest classes at the university, the lawn at Old Main serves as an arboretum, with many of the trees native to the state of Arkansas found on the lawn. Sitting at the edge of the lawn is Spoofers Stone, a place for couples to meet, students play soccer, cricket and touch football on the lawns open green
11.
University of Texas at Austin
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Founded in 1881 as The University of Texas, its campus is in Austin, Texas—approximately 1 mile from the Texas State Capitol. The institution has the nations seventh-largest single-campus enrollment, with over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 24,000 faculty, UT Austin was inducted into the American Association of Universities in 1929, becoming only the third university in the American South to be elected. It is a center for academic research, with research expenditures exceeding $550 million for the 2014–2015 school year. J. Pickle Research Campus and the McDonald Observatory, among university faculty are recipients of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, the Wolf Prize, the Emmy Award, the Turing Award, and the National Medal of Science, as well as many other awards. UT Austin student athletes compete as the Texas Longhorns and are members of the Big 12 Conference and its Longhorn Network is the only sports network featuring the college sports of a single university. The first mention of a university in Texas can be traced to the 1827 constitution for the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although Title 6, Article 217 of the Constitution promised to establish education in the arts and sciences. On April 18,1838, An Act to Establish the University of Texas was referred to a committee of the Texas Congress. On January 26,1839, the Texas Congress agreed to set aside fifty leagues of land towards the establishment of a publicly funded university, in addition,40 acres in the new capital of Austin were reserved and designated College Hill. In 1845, Texas was annexed into the United States, interestingly, the states Constitution of 1845 failed to mention higher education. On February 11,1858, the Seventh Texas Legislature approved O. B,102, an act to establish the University of Texas, which set aside $100,000 in United States bonds toward construction of the states first publicly funded university. The legislature also designated land reserved for the encouragement of railroad construction toward the universitys endowment, Texas secession from the Union and the American Civil War delayed repayment of the borrowed monies. At the end of the Civil War in 1865, The University of Texas endowment was just over $16,000 in warrants, the more valuable lands reverted to the fund to support general education in the state. The legislature additionally appropriated $256,272.57 to repay the funds taken from the university in 1860 to pay for frontier defense, the 1883 grant of land increased the land in the Permanent University Fund to almost 2.2 million acres. Under the Act of 1858, the university was entitled to just over 1,000 acres of land for every mile of railroad built in the state. On March 30,1881, the legislature set forth the structure and organization. By popular election on September 6,1881, Austin was chosen as the site, galveston, having come in second in the election was designated the location of the medical department. On November 17,1882, on the original College Hill, smite the earth, smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth
12.
Texas Tech University
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Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on February 10,1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, the universitys student enrollment is the sixth-largest in Texas as of the Fall 2014 semester. The university shares its campus with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, making it the campus in Texas to house an undergraduate university, law school. The university offers degrees in more than 150 courses of study through 13 colleges and hosts 60 research centers, Texas Tech University has awarded over 200,000 degrees since 1927, including over 40,000 graduate and professional degrees. The Carnegie Foundation classifies Texas Tech as having highest research activity, Research projects in the areas of epidemiology, pulsed power, grid computing, nanophotonics, atmospheric sciences, and wind energy are among the most prominent at the university. The Texas Tech Red Raiders are charter members of the Big 12 Conference, the Red Raiders football team has made 36 bowl appearances, which is 17th most of any university. The Red Raiders basketball team has made 14 appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, bob Knight has coached the second most wins in mens NCAA Division I basketball history and served as the teams head coach from 2001 to 2008. The Lady Raiders basketball team won the 1993 NCAA Division I Tournament, in 1999, Texas Techs Goin Band from Raiderland received the Sudler Trophy, which is awarded to recognize collegiate marching bands of particular excellence. Though the majority of the students are from the southwestern United States. Texas Tech University alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, the call to open a college in West Texas began shortly after settlers arrived in the area in the 1880s. In 1917, the Texas legislature passed a bill creating a branch of Texas A&M to be in Abilene, however, the bill was repealed two years later during the next session after it was discovered Governor James E. Ferguson had falsely reported the site committees choice of location. After new legislation passed in the house and senate in 1921, Governor Pat Neff vetoed it. Furious about Neffs veto, some in West Texas went so far as to recommend West Texas secede from the state, on February 10,1923, Neff signed the legislation creating Texas Technological College, and in July of that year, a committee began searching for a site. When the committees members visited Lubbock, they were overwhelmed to find residents lining the streets to support for hosting the institution. That August, Lubbock was chosen on the first ballot over other towns, including Floydada, Plainview, Big Spring. Construction of the campus began on November 1,1924. Ten days later, the cornerstone of the Administration Building was laid in front of 20,000 people, chitwood served in the position only fifteen months, he died in November 1926. With an enrollment of 914 students—both men and women—Texas Technological College opened for classes on October 1,1925 and it was originally composed of four schools—Agriculture, Engineering, Home Economics, and Liberal Arts
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