125th Celebration Impact To Last For Years
Sam Houston has been a great name in Texas education for
125 years, and the celebration of Sam Houston State University's
founding will include not only one-time events but ongoing
projects that will have an impact for years to come.
The planning to properly mark the inception and accomplishments
of the entity that has also been known as Sam Houston Normal
Institute, Sam Houston State Teachers College, and Sam Houston
State College, began last summer.
That's when a 125th Anniversary Celebration Steering Committee
comprised of faculty, administration, students, alumni, retirees,
community leaders and friends of the university began work.
A number of projects have been initiated as a result of the
committee’s efforts.
They include the revival of the school’s yearbook, The
Alcalde, through a partnership with Taylor publishing, and
production of a coffee table style history book of the university.
A collaborative project between the computer services department
and the Newton Gresham Library will use the library's newly
acquired Hyperion Database to digitize and catalogue university
photographs. Also under way is pursuit of a partnership with
the Texas Foundation for the Arts and Sunset Productions to
produce a historical documentary of the university.
Sam Houston Normal Institute was established on April 21,
1879, when Texas Gov. Oran M. Roberts signed the legislation
to create Texas’ first “Normal School” in
Huntsville. A Normal School was the early name for a college
to train public school teachers.
With 110 students and four faculty members, the institution
that is now Sam Houston State University formally celebrated
its opening in the Austin College Building, now Austin Hall,
on Oct. 10 of that year. Gov. Roberts was the principal speaker
at that ceremony.
A number of events and activities, including several which
will be held annually, are planned on and around those historic
dates. Inaugural events include an Official University Ring
Ceremony, a President’s Dinner and Concert and a President’s
Golf Tournament.
On April 16, the President's Dinner and Concert will be held
at 7 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.
On April 17, the President’s Golf Tournament will begin
at 8:30 a.m. at the Raven Nest Golf Course.
James Haley, author of the critically acclaimed biography
“Sam Houston,” will be the next lecturer in the
President’s Speaker Series. Haley will speak at 11 a.m.
April 20 in the Beto Criminal Justice Center Killinger Auditorium.
Haley's topic will be "Educating Sam: Book Larnin' and
Real Life." A book signing in the lobby will follow his
speech.
Haley will also give a “Gallery Talk” that evening
for the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, host to the opening show
of the Texas Council for the Humanities’ exhibit “The
Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence.” Haley
will speak at 8 p.m. in the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr., Education
Center.
A re-enactment of the signing of Sam Houston Normal Institute's
charter document by Gov. Roberts, is scheduled for the steps
of Austin Hall on April 21. Roberts began the first of his
two terms as governor in 1879, 20 years after Sam Houston
had held the same office.
April 22 is set as the date for the inaugural Official University
Ring Ceremony, during which the first students will receive
their rings, also at Austin Hall.
Entry fee for the golf tournament, which is open to the public,
has been set at $125. Entry fees for other events will be
announced as plans are completed. Many events will be free
and open to all.
In addition to the April events, the week of Oct. 10 has been
designated as Homecoming Week for SHSU in honor of the 125th
anniversary. That week, there will be a birthday-like atmosphere
on campus as homecoming events are turned into a 125th extravaganza.
- END -
SHSU Media Contact: Frank
Krystyniak
January 29, 2004
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