University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

Page 14 text:

CENTENNIAL CENTURY The Constitution of Texas directed the Legislature to establish, organize and provide for the maintenance of a university of the first class, and this is what happened next . . . While construction on the Old Main Building began in 1882, the structure was not actually completed until 1899 when the East Wing was added. Note the fence to keep out cattle. 10 The University ' s First Century

Page 13 text:

J 1 Except th Medical IHi aitm nt. B ctioo Flrt Tuesday ft: s-pt. nh r n it. THE CITY OF WACO IN A CANDIDATE VOB TUB LOCATION OF TH UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. to b boi-i UM flnrt Taetdaf In 8puna Mr n t ft Jtf THE CITY OF HOUSTON Want tiM VotM f th V ij.if of TXM for tbJ kx-att..n oi The Medical Department M thf Htat Rl ctlt n Hit mbr fi XlltltlM t f tO It la candidate for the locathm of the MAIN IMAM 11 OK TUB IISIYI OF MAS, fltfnllf Hi-it tb rot of the peotu? Aod rwpfltfnllf an le;U D t- be L ' sioN DAILY POST. Hrif ' inl r It. IHHi Several Texas cities advertised, hoping to be selected as the site of The University. As to the location of this institution, I don ' t care three groats where it is located. Rep. John Henry Brown Galveston County, Seventh Legislature, 1857 At their first meeting on Nov. 17, 1881, the Board of Regents ap- propriated College Hill as the site for The University of Texas, shown in the following excerpt from their proceedings: The grounds set apart many years ago for a University, and known as College Hill, consisting of forty acres, and a magnificent site for a great institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge, such as the people of Texas require that this University shall be. The executive committee of the board have been authorized to have this University ground surveyed and surrounded by a substantial fence for its protection. A year later the cornerstone of the Main Building of The University was laid. Colonel Ashbel Smith, first president of the Board of Regents spoke at the laying of the cornerstone, saying, The Universi- ty of Texas will not merely educate a vastly greater number of students than would otherwise obtain a high education; but there goes with it an advantage that is scarcely possible to overrate. It is a home education for the youth of our State. The youth who gets his educa- tion at home is in accord, in a sympathy, having the strength of an in- stinct, with the people of Texas, his heart beats in all its pulses with the heart of the great mass of his fellow citizens, with a common heart, if I may so speak of the people of Texas. And so it came to be; The University of Texas was for real. One hundred years later, The University celebrates its Centennial year, a symbol of higher education and opportunity for more than 48,000 students. The next 87 pages outline the first 100 years they are in- tended to serve as a firm point of reference, highlighting the people and events that have painted our University ' s colorful past. Cold, damp weather kept many at home for the November 17. 1882 Old Main cornerstone ceremony. Few guests were attracted to the board and barrel benches. The University ' s First Century 9

Page 15 text:

The University celebrates opening 1883 ance Samuel Clark Red of Austin, 1883 The first student, S. J. Sheffield of Lodi, Texas, enrolls at The University in the law department. Sept. 1 1, 1883 (Jj Dignitaries and students celebrate the formal opening of The University at 10:00 a.m. in the West Wing of the as yet incomplete Main Building. Sept. 15, 1883 j j Despite the argument that there should be a separate university for females, women are admitted to The University on an equal basis with men. Sept. 1), 1883 (!) A chapter of Phi Delta Theta is installed, making it The Univer- sity ' s first social fraternity. Sept. 15, 1883 The opening assembly for 221 students, 8 faculty members and a proctor is held in the Senate Chambers of the temporary Capitol. Sept. 17, 1883 ||| The Athenaeum Society, a campus literary organization, is organized. Yancey Lewis is president of the society which enthusiastically debates issues of the day. Oct. 21, 1883 Red was conferred the first University degree; Andrews was UT ' s first woman graduate. UT ' s first faculty: (seated)John Mallet, Robert Dabney, Oran Roberts. Milton Humphreys, William Broun; (standing) Leslie Waggener, Robert Gould, Henri Tallichet. The University ' s First Century 11