A
Academic Center
see Flawn Academic Center
Academs
When the University was first established in 1883, two "departments" were created: the Academic Department and the Law Department. Students in the Academic Department, which included arts and sciences, called themselves "academs."
Accounting, Office of-Collects
disburses, and controls monies; records, summarizes, and analyzes financial data; processes, reports information.
Aden, Eunice
A physical education instructor, 1904-1910, and director of the Department of Physical Education for Women until 1921; she organized the Women's Athletic Association.
Admissions Office
The University's admissions offices are in John Hargis Hall (for freshmen admissions) and in the Main Building. The offices process all applications for admission to the University and notifies prospective students of their acceptance status. Other services: counseling, outreach programs, evaluation of transfer coursework.
Aggie Bonfire
One of the memorable ceremonies associated with the annual gridiron competition between UT and Texas A&M University. The Texas Cowboys have usually sponsored collection of wood for the fire. The present Clark Field (once called Freshman Field), Pease Park, north banks of Town Lake, and a vacant plot between Guadalupe and Lamar at 45th have been locations. In 1980, the City of Austin banned bonfires within the city limits, and UT has not held a bonfire since then.
AIAW-Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
directed the expansion of women's collegiate sports, 1972-1982; lost much of its membership when National Collegiate Athletic Association (see NCAA) offered championships in women's sports and paid for travel expenses to the championships in 1982. The AIAW was forced out of business and in the fall of 1982, the NCAA took control of all women's collegiate athletic programs.
Akers' Angels
Service organization started in 1978 to aid the Longhorn football team; members serve as hostesses during spring recruiting and at such functions as alumni pre-game parties and the annual football banquet.
Al Kiva
A large octagonal, multipurpose auditorium on the ground floor of the Education Building. Kiva is a Hopi term for a ceremonial structure that usually is round and partly underground. "Al" refers to the Horn clan of the Hopis.
Albers, Carl C.
1898 - 1967, born Lincoln, Texas; graduated from UT College of Pharmacy and began teaching pharmacology there in 1923; acting dean at the time of his death.
Alcalde
Two publications bearing this name have been part of UT history. The best known Alcalde is the bimonthly magazine of The Ex-Students' Association, published since 1913. Fritz Lanham was the first editor. The other was a weekly student publication, privately managed, that first appeared in December 1895; it became a state weekly in 1897.
Alexander Frederick Claire (Alec)
Patron saint of the College of Engineering. He existed only in song from 1902 until April Fool's Day, 1908, when a small group of carousing engineers spotted him at Jacoby's Beer Garten. He is a wooden statue of a little fat-bellied fellow about five feet high, holding aloft a glass of beer in his right hand. He was "borrowed," and became the patron saint. Today, he is on display in the Engineering Library, Cockrell Hall.
Allison, Wilmer
One of the world's ranking tennis players in the 1930s; with Johnny Van Ryan, took the Wimbledon doubles title in 1929 and 1930; runner-up in singles at Wimbledon in 1930; played on the U.S. Davis Cup team, 1929-1937. He was assistant tennis coach, 1947-1957, and coach, 1957-1972, producing four conference crowns. As a UT student, 1927, he captured the NCAA singles championship.
Alpha Epsilon Delta
A national honorary pre-medical fraternity; a chapter was established at UT in 1929.
Alpha Lambda Delta
A national freshman honor society founded at the University of Illinois in 1924 as a women-only society. The Texas chapter, Lambda Delta, was organized Jan. 8, 1930, and became a part of the national society on Dec. 13, 1935. The society, honoring freshmen with a GPA of 3.50 or above, became co-ed in 1976.
Alpha Phi Omega
A national service fraternity founded in 1925 at Lafayette College for college men who "worked with all youth movements, especially scouting." Alpha Rho chapter, established at UT May 25, 1935, was the first chapter in Texas and the 40th in the nation. All male at first, it admitted females in 1975.
Alumni Band, Longhorn
A large group of former members of the Longhorn Band who still like to get together and play; it is usually featured at a football game each fall. Its chartered purpose is to provide scholarships for the Longhorn Band and promote fellowship among band alumni.
Alumni Center
see Etter, Lila B., Alumni Center
Alumni College
An annual summer program of continuing education classes and social events sponsored by The Texas Exes. It includes lectures by noted University professors on topics of current interest. It was first held in 1977.
Alumni Records Center
Has kept records on alumni since the establishment of The Ex-Students' Association in 1885. Originally kept manually, the records are now held at the center in a sophisticated computerized system. It is the only central alumni archive and provides information to the University and The Ex-Students' Association.
Andrews Dormitory
A women's residence hall for 119 students, constructed in 1936 at a cost of $238,852, on the north side of the campus as one unit of the women's quadrangle. It is named for Jessie Andrews, UT's first woman student and first woman faculty member.
Andrews, Jessie
1867-1919, born Washington, Miss.; first woman student to register in UT; first woman to receive a B.A. degree from UT; first woman appointed as an instructor on UT faculty. Andrews Dormitory is named for her.
Animal Resources Center
Houses almost all of the laboratory animals, ranging from goldfish to goats, that are used in UT research studies. Completed in 1977, it was designed to meet exacting federal standards required for the operation of animal research facilities.
Applied Research Laboratories
Built in 1967 at the Balcones Research Center in north Austin.
Architecture Annex
A former Lutheran Student Center at 100 East 26th Street, it was acquired by UT in 1968 and is used by the School of Architecture.
Art Building
Completed in 1963 and dedicated during the 22nd annual Fine Arts Festival that year. In 1976, it was renovated and enlarged. The building provided the University its first complete exhibition gallery, the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery.
Ashbel Literary Society
Organized by women students at UT in 1888 because they were not permitted to become members of the men's societies. It was named for Ashbel Smith, first chairman of the Board of Regents. An annual open meeting, at which a play was usually presented, was popular in the early years. Several attempts have been made in recent years to revive interest in the group.
Assistant Instructors
Auxiliary members of the teaching staff employed to meet instructional needs at the undergraduate level, primarily in the lowerdivision areas. Their teaching is supervised and directed by departmental faculty.
Astro-Turf
First installed in Memorial Stadium in 1969 at a cost of $525,000. It was replaced in 1974 because of use and wear and has since been replaced when necessary, including the summer of 1982, at a cost of $499,000. Astro-turf was removed in the 1990s in favor of a more natural turf.
Athenaeum Literary Society
Before the University was 10 days old in 1883, a call was issued by students for organization of a literary society. Two law students, Yancey Lewis and James Robert Hamilton, wanted to be president. The Lewisites won the most support and formed the Athenaeum Society for debating current topics.
Athletic Council
The governing body for intercollegiate athletics on the campus; composed of nine members, one each from the student body and The Ex-Students' Association, two appointed by the Board of Regents, and five from the General Faculty Standing Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics. The chairman of the faculty committee chairs the council and is UT's faculty representative to the Southwest Conference. Early athletics programs were organized and controlled primarily by students, but as they increased in popularity and became revenue-producing, the University began to regulate and reorganize them through a faculty-dominated council.
Austin Dam
Completed May 21, 1893, the dam across the Colorado River formed beautiful Lake McDonald, and the area became the social center of Austin. A flood broke the $1,000,000 dam on April 7, 1900, loosing a torrent of water all over the city. It was rebuilt in 1913, only to flood downstream again in 1935. The current Tom Miller Dam, forming Lake Austin, was completed in 1940.
Available University Fund
Earned income from the Permanent University Fund, which is the State's endowment for the University. The Permanent Fund is made up of income from University land in West Texas and the land itself (approximately 2 million acres). Only interest from the Permanent Fund may be expended. UT shares the Available Fund with Texas A&M University: two thirds for UT and part of its System and one-third for Texas A&M.
